ABSTRACT
In the first place there was a major redistribution of seats. In the former Irish parliament there had been a huge disparity in favour of the borough seats over the counties; this was reversed in Westminster, where the counties were given sixty-four seats to the boroughs' thirty-five. This was important because the boroughs were in the grip of Protestants, whereas the county seats contained a majority of Catholic voters who had been enfranchised in 1797. Some historians have argued that this developed a political consciousness which had been lacking before. 1 It is perhaps too early to talk of the emergence of Irish nationalism. But the Act of Union did create, albeit unintentionally, a substantial political group which could be influenced by radical ideas . Radicalism, an essential prerequisite for nationalism, needed in turn a grievance upon which to grow.
