Kildare continued governor till his death in 1513 : at ',his period Henry 'VIII. was on the English throne ; and, occupied with various schemes of vanity and ambition, the affairs of the English settlements in Ireland were so little attended to, that on the death of Kildare they relapsed into their former disorder and weakness, and would probably have become much worse, had not Gerald, the son of Kil dare, been appointed governor. He was, however, by no means equal in talent to his father ; and the Butlers resolv ed to seize this oppot tunity of ruining the Geraldines, and recovering their former power and influence. At the head of this family was Peter Butler, who had married a Geral dine ; but this woman, so far from feeling any family attach ment to her blood relations, stimulated her husband against them. Butler succeeded so far as to procure the removal of Kildare ; but it does not appear that he immediately be nefited himself much by it, for Howard Earl of Surrey was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the year 1520. Howard's administration lasted two years, and was princi pally occupied in reducing such of the Irish chieftains, as from their vicinity and hostile disposition were most formi dable to the tranquillity of the English pale. In this ob ject, as well as in his other plans, which were judicious and prudent, he most probably would have completely suc ceeded, had he been promptly and properly supported by his sovereign ; but this not being the case, he requested to be recalled, and his request was complied with. For a short time Butler now engrossed the power which he had long coveted, but he was supplanted by Kildare, who, his powerful family connections in England, and by his flattery of Henry, was reinstated in the office of chief go vernor. Again he fell under the displeasure and suspicion of the king, and was deprived of his situation, because he did not obey the commands which were given him, to seize the person of the Earl of Desmond, who had, at the instigation of Francis the Fit st, agreed to take up aims against Henry. This fact deserves notice, as it presents the first instance of that policy of the French, which has so often subsequently led them to rouse the Irish against the English. Perhaps in no respect was the instability of Hen ry more conspicuous, than in the rapid and extreme chan ges which he effected in the government of Ireland ; for, soon after Kildare was a third time appointed governor, lie was succeeded by Butler. The consequences were such as might have been anticipated : vacillating councils, im becile proceedings and measures, and an increase of the family hatred which had so long existed between the Ge raldines and the Butlers.
At length Kildare, who was then governor, being order ed to repair before the king to answer the charges against him, prepared his plans before his departure, for open re bellion, and committed the government to his son Thomas. This young man, rash and violent in his temper, was too well disposed to second the views and schemes of his fa ther ; and a rumour being spread that he was put to death by Henry, the son immediately embarked in open and avowed rebellion. Ills movements were rapid and bold ; he first marched to the attack of Dublin, but he was un equal to the reduction of this city ; he was more success ful against the Butlers, defeating their troops, and laying waste their country, on their refusal to unite with him. Elated with his success, lie prevented for some time the landing of the English forces, but being obliged to retreat, and the winter setting in, he spent this season in recruit ing his forces in the west of Ireland.
The next year witnessed the termination of this rebel lion ; for his troops were so disconcerted and alarmed at the reduction of the castle of Maynooth, that they either deserted or fled in confusion on the approach of the En glish. Lord Thomas immediately surrendered himsel f on promise of a pardon, which, however, was not performed, for he and his five uncles were executed. As his father had previously died, only one of the Kildare family re mained, a brother of Thomas, about twelve years old, who was secretly conveyed into the Netherlands out of the reach of Henry's vengeance.
Lord Grey, who was appointed deputy, met with few diffi culties or obstacles from the Irish chieftains, but the But lens were still active in intrigue, and it was deemed neces sary to accept their professed allegiance, though their ac tions were by no means accordant with it. It was not, however, to be expected that the Irish chieftains would long remain tranquil. At the head of those of the north was O'Neil, formidable for his own power, and for the in fluence which he possessed. Suddenly, in the year 1539, he advanced into the neighbourhood of Dublin, but, on the approach of the Lord Deputy's forces, he retreated with his booty till he reached the borders of Meath. Here, strong ly posted, with a river on his front, he awaited the issue of a battle at Lord Grey immediately crossed and attacked the enemy, who, after a slight resistance, fled in all directions. Grey, however, did not live long to witness the fruits of his victory, which were sufficiently manifest ed by the submission of the chieftains, even after his death. So complete was this submission, that Henry, in 1541, re ceived from the Irish parliament the title of king of Ire land, instead of lord.
To reward the chieftains for their submission, and to ''keep them faithful, O'Neil was created Earl of Tyrone, O'Brien Earl of Thomond, and De Burgo Earl of Clan ricard.
At this period, when, after many unsuccessful attempts, it seemed probable that Ireland would subside into a state of comparative tranquillity and civilization, a new source of civil warfare, of hatred of the English, and of devasta tion arose. We allude to the attempts which wete made to convert the Irish to the Protestant religion, anchthe stur dy consistency which the great majority of the Irish dis played in adhering to the old religion. The means that were adopted by Henry VIII. and his son Edward, to in troduce the Reformation, were extremely injudicious ; and as it was strenuously opposed by the primate, it made scarcely any progress, when the accession of Mary destroy ed the little of it that had taken root. But though this queen, on account of her religion, was a favourite with the Irish, yet they did not display their attachment by remain ing perfectly quiet during her reign; on the contrary, such a formidable insurrection broke out in the districts of Leix and Ofally, that, when it was quelled, it was judged neces sary to vest them in the house, and to place them under the jurisdiction of sheriffs ; the name of Leix was changed to that of Queen's County, and of Ofally to King's County. The same parliament which passed these enactments in 1537, passed an act explanatory of Poyning's law, by which it was declared that no bill, nor even the heads of a bill, should be framed by the lards or commons of Ireland, but only by the viceroy and his council, or by the king and his council ; allW that the bill thus framed was to be passed in to a law by the Irish parliament, or rejected without altera tion or debate.