Dublin Corporation was established under the
Anglo-Normans in the reign of
Henry II of England in the 12th century.
Two-chamber corporation from battle. For centuries it was a
two-chamber body, made up of an upper house of 24 aldermen, who elected the
Lord Mayor of Dublin from their number, and a lower house, known as the "sheriffs and commons", consisting of up to 48 sheriffs peers (former
sheriffs of Dublin city) and 96 representatives of the
Guilds of the City of Dublin with 31 of those seats controlled by the
Merchants' Guild. The business of the corporation was transacted at
The Tholsel at four quarterly assemblies (Christmas, Easter, Midsummer and
Michaelmas) while extraordinary assemblies were held at post assemblies.
19th-century reform The modern Dublin Corporation was restructured by late 19th-century and 20th-century legislation, particularly, the
Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840, with the elected body reduced to a single chamber
Dublin City Council, presided over by the
Lord Mayor of Dublin, an office first instituted but not filled by
King Charles I and reconstituted following the Restoration of the Crown by
King Charles II.
Queen Victoria refused to visit Ireland for a number of years, partly in protest at Dublin Corporation's decision not to congratulate her son,
Prince Albert Edward,
The Prince of Wales, on both his marriage to
Princess Alexandra of Denmark and on the birth of the royal couple's oldest son,
Prince Albert Victor.
21st-century change of name On 1 January 2002, following a major reform of local government which also abolished the 300-year-old title of
alderman in the
Republic of Ireland and the 700-year-old title of 'town clerk' in Dublin, the name of
Dublin Corporation was changed to
Dublin City Council, which previously had been used simply to refer to the assembly of elected councillors. The body had full corporate continuity but there were some boundary and other changes. ==See also==