THE CHURCH IN IRELAND DURING THE REIGNS OFHENRY VIII. AND EDWARD VI. (1509-1553)
See bibliography， chap. vii. /Annals of the F. M./ (ed.
O'Donovan)， 7 vols.， 1851. /Annals of Loch Cé/ (ed. Hennessy)， 2vols.， 1871. Theiner， /Monumenta Scotorum/， etc. (/ut supra/).
Moran， /Spicilegium Ossoriense/， 3 vols.， 1874-85. Publications of Catholic Record Society of Ireland， /Archivium Hibernicum/， 3vols.， 1912-14. /De Annatis Hiberniae/， vol. i. (Ulster)， 1912.
/State Papers/， 11 vols.， 1832-51 (vols. ii.， iii.， /Correspondence between the Governments of England and Ireland/， 1515-46). Brewer and Gairdner， /Calendar of Letters and Papers ...
of Reign of Henry VIII./， 13 vols.， 1862-92. /Calendar of State Papers， Ireland/， vol. i. (1509-1573). /Calendar of State Papers/(Carew)， 1 vol.， 1515-1574. Morrin， /Calendar of Patent Rolls/(Ireland)， 1 vol.， 1861 (Hen. VIII.， Ed. VI.， Mary， Elizabeth).
Shirley， /Original Letters and Papers in Illustration of the History of the Church of Ireland during the Reigns of Ed. VI.， Mary and Elizabeth/， 1851. /Holinshead's Chronicles of England， Scotland， and Ireland/， 6 vols.， 1807 (/Chronicle of Ireland/， by Holinshead； Stanyhurst， 1509-47； John Hooker， 1547-86). D'Alton， /History of Ireland/， vol. i.， 1903. Bagwell， /Ireland under the Tudors/， 3 vols.， 1885-90. Bonn， /Die Englische Kolonisation in Irland/， 2 Bd.， 1896. Bellesheim， op. cit. Brenan， /An Ecclesiastical History of Ireland/， 1864. Mant， /History of the Church of Ireland/， 2 vols.， 1840. Killen， /The Ecclesiastical History of Ireland/， 2 vols.， 1875. Cox， /Hibernia Anglicana/， etc.， 1689. /Hibernia Pacata/ (ed. O'Grady， 2 vols.， 1896). Ware's /Works/ (ed. Harris， 1764). /Harleian Miscellany/， 10 vols.， 1808-13. Moran， /History of the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin since the Reformation/， 1 vol.， 1864. Renehan-McCarthy， /Collections on Irish Church History/， vol. i. (Archbishops)， 1861. Brady， /Episcopal Success in England， Scotland， Ireland/， 3 vols.， 1876.
When Henry VIII. ascended the English throne， though he styled himself the Lord of Ireland， he could claim little authority in the country.
The neglect of his predecessors， the quarrels between the English colonists， especially between the Geraldines and the Butlers， and the anxiety of both parties to ally themselves with the Irish princes， had prevented the permanent conquest of the country. Outside the very limited area of the Pale English sheriffs or judges dare not appear to administer English law； no taxes were paid to the crown； no levies of troops could be raised， and the colonists could only hope for comparative peace by paying an annual tribute to the most powerful of their Irish neighbours. The barony of Lecale in Down paid ā40 a year to O'Neill of Clandeboy， Louth paid a similar sum to O'Neill of Tyrone， Meath paid ā300 a year to O'Connor of Offaly， Kildare ā20 to O'Connor， Wexford ā40 to the McMurroughs， Kilkenny and Tipperary ā40to O'Carroll of Ely， Limerick city and county ā80 to the O'Briens， Cork ā40 to the McCarthys， and so low had the government fallen that it consented to pay eighty marks yearly from the royal treasury to McMurrough.[1]
During the early years of his reign Henry VIII. was so deeply interested in his schemes for subduing France and in continental affairs generally that he could give little attention to his dominions in Ireland. Sometimes the Earl of Kildare was superseded by the appointment of the Earl of Surrey (1520)， and of Sir Piers Butler， the claimant to the Earldom of Ormond (1521)， and of Sir William Skeffington (1529)， but as a general rule Kildare， whether as Deputy or as a private citizen， succeeded in dictating the policy of the government. By his matrimonial alliances with the Irish chieftains， the O'Neills， the MacCarthys， O'Carroll of Ely， and O'Connor of Offaly， his bargains with many of the other Irish and Anglo-Irish nobles， and by his well-known prowess in the field， he had succeeded in making himself much more powerful in Ireland than the English sovereign. But his very success had raised up against him a host of enemies， led by his old rival the Earl of Ormond， and supported by a large body of ecclesiastics， including Allen， the Archbishop of Dublin， and of lay nobles. Various charges against him were forwarded to England， and in 1534 he was summoned to London to answer for his conduct. Before setting out on his last journey to London he appointed his son， Lord Thomas Fitzgerald (Silken Thomas)， then a youth of twenty-one， to take charge of the government. The latter had neither the wisdom nor the experience of his father. Rumours of his father's execution， spread by the enemies of the Geraldines， having reached his ears， despite the earnest entreaties of Archbishop Cromer of Armagh， he resigned the sword of state， and called upon his retainers to avenge the death of the Earl of Kildare (1534).
The rebellion of Silken Thomas forced Henry VIII. to undertake a determined campaign for the conquest of Ireland. His hopes of winning glory and territory in France had long since disappeared. He was about to break completely with Rome， and there was some reason to fear that Charles V. might make a descent upon the English coasts with or without the aid of the King of France. Were an invasion from the Continent undertaken before the conquest of Ireland had been finished it might result in the complete separation of that kingdom from England， and its transference to some foreign power. It was well known that some of the Irish princes were in close correspondence with France and Scotland， that Silken Thomas was hoping for the assistance of the Emperor， and that once England had separated herself definitely from the Holy See， many of the Irish and Anglo-Irish nobles might be induced to make common cause with the Pope against a heretical king.