In 1782 Dr Thomas Coke was directed by Rev John Wesley to convene a meeting of the preachers in Ireland and to hold, for the first time, a Conference in Dublin based upon the same principles as the Conferences in England.

During Wesley’s earlier visits he had assembled some of the Irish preachers and had consulted them concerning local religious matters but these encounters were not in the form of Conferences. All the concerns expressed in Ireland, which were deemed to have importance, had subsequently been dealt with at the English Conference. The appointments of all the preachers throughout the Connexion were also decided in England.

The increase in the number of societies in Ireland and the accumulation of Irish business requiring debate made a separate Conference necessary. The 1782 Conference was presided over by Dr Coke.