Yet, in 1820, either he or his brother fought a bloodless duel in Hyde Park with Lord Clare after making "offensive" remarks about Clyde's father during a public meeting in Dublin.
[5] An existing member of Brooks's, Grattan was elected unopposed as Whig MP for Wicklow at a by-election in 1821,[6] pledging to pursue the same "principles and conduct" as his father.
He was noted by James Grant as an MP with "great fluency" and "never... at a loss for words", but "ideas are of an inferior order" and having "nothing of the vehemence of his brother".
Speaking with his hat under his left arm, the house could "calculate as safely on his presence as that of the Speaker himself" when Irish matters were discussed.
[3][5] Attending regularly, he often divided with the Whigs on most issues, including economy, retrenchment and reduced taxation, and also voted for reform and Catholic relief, calling, in his maiden speech for the end to the Protestant "monopoly of place, which had already existed for too long"—and his career is dominated by votes and speeches on issues relating to Irish Catholics.