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by by Professor Edith Mary Johnston
"The British History of Parliament is indisputably one of the major historiographical projects of the twentieth century. Like one of its ancestors, the Dictionary of National Biography, the History of Parliament has become accepted as a fact of historical life.
Nevertheless, the not unimportant question of how and why these great biographical projects came into existence is now seldom asked. Their origins appear lost in the past and excite little curiosity.
To most historians interested in Britain and the English speaking countries, the Dictionary of National Biography is an invaluable tool. Students of parliamentary history or government have a similar regard for the History of Parliament.
However, the infrastructure which supports large projects through their long gestation is often delicate and they can easily be killed even at quite an advanced state in their development."
This article looks at the history of the Irish Parliament Research project - the idea of Col. Josiah Clement Wedgwood, later 1st Lord Wedgwood.