Henry Grattan

Henry Grattan, born in Fishamble Street, Dublin in 1746, became the voice of Irish independence, demanding that Ireland govern itself while remaining linked to Great Britain by a common crown. His fiery speeches in the Irish Parliament exposed the hypocrisy of British rule and inspired a generation to believe that freedom was not a gift but a birthright. Even after the Act of Union erased the Irish Parliament in 1801, Grattan continued fighting in Westminster until his death in 1820, leaving behind a legacy that outlived the very institutions he raged against.