How did the Act of Union of 1801 change Dublin’s status?

The Act of Union of 1801 significantly diminished Dublin’s status by abolishing the Irish Parliament. With the removal of governmental duties that had previously required the presence of the political elite, the leading figures of the Ascendancy departed for England.1

This loss of political centrality triggered a long period of urban decline for the city. As the elite left, their once-elegant Georgian houses were increasingly rented out piecemeal to dispossessed peasants, eventually transforming these structures into slums. Consequently, Dublin suffered from severe overcrowding, widespread poverty, and poor living conditions, entering a state of decline from which it did not recover for approximately 150 years.1