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James Grattan (Wicklow MP)

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James Grattan
Member of Parliament
for Wicklow
In office
9 February 1821 – 17 July 1841
Preceded byGranville Proby
William Parnell-Hayes
Succeeded byRalph Howard
William Acton
Personal details
Born7 April 1783
Died21 October 1854(1854-10-21) (aged 71)
NationalityIrish
Political partyWhig

James Grattan (7 April 1783 – 21 October 1854)[1] was an Irish Whig politician and army officer.[2][3][4][5][6]

Family and early life

Grattan was the first son of Irish Patriot Party MP Henry Grattan and Henrietta née Fitzgerald, daughter of Nicholas Fitzgerald of Greensborough. He was also the brother of Henry Grattan (junior), who was also an MP. He was educated privately and then studied at Trinity College, Dublin from 1803 to 1808, before being admitted to King's Inns in 1809. In 1847, he married Lady Laura Maria Tollemache, daughter of William Tollemache, Lord Huntingtower and Catherine Rebecca née Gray. They had at least one daughter: Pauline Grattan (died 1908).[5][6]

In 1810, he became a cornet in the 20th Light Dragoons, and the following year a lieutenant in 9th Regiment of Light Dragoons, before going onto half-pay in 1814. During this period, he served on the Walcheren Campaign and in the peninsula. Yet, in 1820, either he or his brother fought a bloodless duel in Hyde Park with Lord Clare after making "offensive" remarks about Clyde's father during a public meeting in Dublin.[5]

Political career

An existing member of Brooks's, Grattan was elected unopposed as Whig MP for Wicklow at a by-election in 1821,[6] pledging to pursue the same "principles and conduct" as his father. He was noted by James Grant as an MP with "great fluency" and "never... at a loss for words", but "ideas are of an inferior order" and having "nothing of the vehemence of his brother". Speaking with his hat under his left arm, the house could "calculate as safely on his presence as that of the Speaker himself" when Irish matters were discussed.[3][5]

Attending regularly, he often divided with the Whigs on most issues, including economy, retrenchment and reduced taxation, and also voted for reform and Catholic relief, calling, in his maiden speech for the end to the Protestant "monopoly of place, which had already existed for too long"—and his career is dominated by votes and speeches on issues relating to Irish Catholics. He also voted and spoke against the Irish insurrection bill warning ministers that "they might hang and shoot, but the evil will still go on". In 1822, he again fought a duel, this time with Captain O'Grady "in consequence of a political dispute".[5]

With these positions, and a supporter of reform and a member of the Reform Club, he held the seat until 1841 when he was defeated. In the same year, he was made a Privy Counsellor.[2][3][5][6][7]

References

  1. ^ Rayment, Leigh (13 June 2017). "The House of Commons: Constituencies beginning with "W"". Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b "James Gratton". Members of Parliament after 1832. History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 244. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. pp. 103–104. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Salmon, Philip (2009). Fisher, D. R. (ed.). "GRATTAN, James (1785–1854), of Tinnehinch, co. Wicklow". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Lundy, Darryl (20 January 2019). "Rt. Hon. James Grattan". The Peerage. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  7. ^ Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Wicklow
1821–1841
With: Granville Proby (1821–1829)
Ralph Howard (1829–1841) 		Succeeded by
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