Henry Grattan
Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – June 1820) was a member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century. He has been described as a superb orator and a romantic. With generous enthusiasm he demanded that Ireland should be granted its rightful status, that of an independent nation, though he always insisted that Ireland would remain linked to Great Britain by a common crown and by sharing a common political tradition. He was the leader of the Independent Irish Parliament of 1783-1800 and opposed the Act of Union 1800 that merged the Ireland and Great Britain. A statue of Henry Grattan can be seen on Dame Street, directly opposite Trinity College. There are also monuments to him in Dublin city at College Green, St Stephen's Green, Rotunda, City Hall and Cork Street.
