A pioneering exploration of the phenomenon of the composite state in Eighteenth-century Europe. Employing a comparative approach, it combines the findings of new research on Ireland with broader syntheses of major composite states in Europe - those of France, Austria and Poland-Lithuania.

"The work of David Hayton, Charles, Ivar McGrath and James Kelly all present in this book as well as other historians, notably Edith Mary Johnston- Liik, has transformed our understanding of how the Irish parliament worked and why it was important." - Liam Chambers, Mary Immaculate College, Ireland