Lordship of Ireland - Lordship To Kingdom, 1542

Lordship To Kingdom, 1542

English monarchs continued to use the title "Lord of Ireland" to refer to their position of conquered lands on the island of Ireland. The title was changed by the Crown of Ireland Act passed by the Irish Parliament in 1542 when, on Henry VIII's demand, he was granted a new title, King of Ireland, with the state renamed the Kingdom of Ireland. Henry VIII changed his title because the Lordship of Ireland had been granted to the Norman monarchy by the Papacy; Henry had been excommunicated by the Catholic Church and worried that his title could be withdrawn by the Holy See. Henry VIII also wanted Ireland to be become a full kingdom to encourage a greater sense of loyalty amongst his Irish subjects, some of whom took part in his policy of surrender and regrant.

The policies of Henry VIII began the so called Tudor re-conquest of Ireland, in which the English government once again began to assert its authority over the island, through the use of brutal, genocidal warfare as well as diplomacy, treachery, bribery and fomenting internecine conflict among the natives. The proclivity of the native Irish to play mercenary, fight internecine conflicts against each other and even make alliances with the English government to do so while neglecting the threat posed by the English enabled the re-conquest to succeed, as exemplified by the Desmond Rebellions. Government forces still faced remarkably stiff resistance, especially from the more warlike and powerful O'Neill and O'Donnell clans. The wars culminated in the Nine Years' War (Ireland) in which the Irish displayed remarkable bravery, determination and prowess in their resistance, being able to defeat the English in many battles, most notably the battle of Clontibret in 1595, the battle of the Yellow Ford in 1598 and the battle of Curlew Pass in 1599. However, the Irish were ultimately unable to rid the island of the English threat, the rebellion being crushed after the English defeated O'Neill's and O'Donnell's combined forces in 1601 at the battle of Kinsale.