In 1829, the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed after Daniel O'Connell was elected as MP.
The Catholic Emancipation Act was passed by King George IV after Daniel O'Connell, a Catholic, was elected to Parliament. When O'Connell was elected, he was unable to take his seat because the Oath of Supremacy one must take before being allowed to take his seat was incompatible with Catholic beliefs. In order to avoid unrest, the King passed a law allowing Catholics to enter Parliament. However, this edict was not retroactive. Therefore, O'Connell was forced to either take the Oath or vacate his seat. O'Connell tried to take the seat without taking the Oath, but he was ousted and a new election was ordered. In the subsequent election, O'Connell won unopposed. Alas, through all of O'Connell battles, because he was not able to retake his seat until February 1930, O'Connell was not the first Catholic to sit in Parliament. Henry Charles Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Surrey, had already become the first Roman Catholic to have taken advantage of the Emancipation Act and sit in Parliament.
MP is what the people of the United Kingdom call Members of Parliament - it is much easier to say and type!
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| Daniel O'Connell, 1836 – by Bernard Mulrenin |
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