The Irish Patriot Party was the name of a number of different political groupings in Ireland throughout the 18th century. They were primarily supportive of Whig concepts of personal liberty combined with an Irish identity that rejected full independence, but advocated strong self-government within the British Empire. The definition of "patriot" in the 18th century was subtly different from its meaning today, but it was commonly used before the rise of chauvinist popular nationalism in the 19th century.
For historical reasons the Irish Parliament at the time was exclusively Anglican Protestant (Episcopalian). Their main achievement was the Constitution of 1782, which gave Ireland legislative independence.
Read more about Irish Patriot Party: Early Irish Patriots, Grattan's Patriots, Act of Union and Legacy
Famous quotes containing the words irish, patriot and/or party:
“Concurring hands divide
flax for damask
that when bleached by Irish weather
has the silvered chamois-leather
water-tightness of a
skin.”
—Marianne Moore (1887–1972)
““My country, right or wrong” is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying “My mother, drunk or sober.””
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“What is the disease which manifests itself in an inability to leave a party—any party at all—until it is all over and the lights are being put out?... I suppose that part of this mania for staying is due to a fear that, if I go, something good will happen and I’ll miss it. Somebody might do card tricks, or shoot somebody else.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)