History & The Arts
National identity in Britain and Ireland, 1780–1840
...community. In January 1799, members of the Irish House of Commons rejected a bill for union by a narrow margin. Thereafter, the Irish government went to great efforts to persuade MPs to vote for the measure, even paying large bribes to some (Geoghegan, 2001). These efforts proved effective and ultimately the majority of MPs voted in favour of the union. On 28 March 1800,...