← François Thurot lands French forces at Carrickfergus in Belfast Lough- December 31, 1969
Until 1768 the Irish Parliament existed for the lifetime of the king and general elections were therefore infrequent. A radical campaign in the 1760s demanded a Septennial Act and the institution of habeas corpus. In 1768 the English government gave way and accepted an Octennial Act, though refusing habeas corpus