The Irish Church and the Tudor Reformations

This important book examines Ireland’s experiences of the Tudor reformations. Part I shows that the Irish Church, far from being in decline, enjoyed an upsurge in lay support before Henry VIII’s reformation. Part II shows how the early Tudor reformations failed to address the pre-existing weaknesses of the Irish Church, while Cardinal Pole’s program for Catholic restoration in Mary’s reign did not enjoy the time needed to do so. Instead, the problems of the Irish Church were exacerbated as Tudor policy in Ireland became increasingly militarist and expansionist. Under Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Elizabeth, the English crown was able to impose varying degrees of outward conformity to its reformations. Part III shows how without indigenous support Elizabeth’s reformation foundered. In the face of the widespread continued attachment to Catholicism, and the increasing alienation from both the religious as well as the political programs of the Elizabethan regime, the established Church found its congregations hemorrhaging and by the turn of the 17th century, the Church of Ireland was the custodian of ruined church buildings.