Note 57 — Chapter VII

Poynings' Law was passed by the Irish Parliament, at Drogheda, in 1495, under the influence of Sir Edward Poynings, the Lord Deputy of Ireland to the Viceroy Prince Henry, afterwards King Henry VIII. The essential provision of Poynings' Law was that it secured all initiative in legislation to the English Privy Council, leaving to Ireland nothing but the simple power of acceptance or rejection. Ireland was thus left only a veto, though a veto is often a considerable weapon.