In 1690, as William of Orange took to the throne following his defeat of King James II at the Battle of the Boyne, all hopes for a Catholic England were destroyed. The new Protestant monarch wasted no time in leaving an imprint on the neighbouring island, issuing laws that deprived Catholics of many rights, most crucially the right to own or buy land. With the majority being countryside farmers, many Irish Catholics suddenly found themselves stripped of their land, with little choice but to either become tenants of their former homes or move to the capital.

Unprecedented migration meant that by the second half of the 18th century, the Protestant community of Dublin found itself greatly outnumbered by newly arrived, disenfranchised Catholics. As rumblings of discontent resulted in rebellion and violence, the Anglican aristocracy did not wait around to see the outcome. Pouring out of the capital, they left Dublin open to decline.

Aware of the necessity to give the city some sort of direction, reformist politician Henry Grattan made a case for legislative autonomy and, after months of negotiations, was rewarded for his efforts. In 1782, the Irish Parliament was granted temporary independence from England and, as a first action, abolished some of the Penal Laws against Catholics. Yet, as the capital entered another age of turmoil with Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet becoming the talk of the town, England felt the need to restore direct rule from London. Passed in 1801, the Act of Union, which was intended to ally Britain and Ireland even further, had the complete opposite effect, and only initiated yet another wave of social and economic decline.