Greenwich’s Thomond Bargain
Archived: 18 October 2026
Abstract
In 1543 the Tudor crown made one of its clearest attempts to translate Irish lordship into a form it could recognise, reward and regulate. The year’s decisive moments were not battles or conquests but acts of negotiation: Gaelic and Gaelicised magnates travelled to Henry VIII’s court; titles were exchanged for patents; rival kinsmen were reconciled at Dublin; and the vacancy at Armagh exposed the unsettled religious authority of the realm. These developments did not make Ireland obedient to a central government, nor did they erase older political habits. They did, however, show how Anthony St Leger’s administration hoped to extend