Waterford County Council Collections

Local Government in Ireland was reorganised under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898. The Grand Juries that had been in existence from the thirteenth century in Waterford County were abolished and replaced by County Councils and Rural District Councils.

Members of the first Waterford County Council, 1899 

Under the Grand Jury system there was a limited franchise which resulted in control of the local government by a small minority.  Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898 the Grand Juries ceased to exist and the functions of the Grand Jury were taken over by Waterford County Council.  The extension of the franchise meant that the members of Waterford County Council were elected by a larger section of the population in Waterford. In 1898 the local electorate consisted of the parliamentary electorate and also women and peers. The parliamentary electorate were property owners, occupiers of property who paid rates direct or through the landowner as an addition to rent and any lodger paying more than 10 rent per annum. 

Waterford County Council met quarterly in the early days and as the business of the council increased so too did the meetings of the Council until they met, as they do now, once a month. The matters dealt with at these meetings are detailed in the Minute Books.