Tudor Ireland 1486 – 1607 AD

The English grip on Ireland tightened as Henry VIII becomes the first English monarch to declare himself ‘King of Ireland’. This is an age of plantation, armada, revolution and tragedy.

The Tudor period may have been relatively short compared with some of our other eras, but it had long reaching and often devastating impacts on Ireland and its people. In 1541, Henry VIII was declared king of Ireland by the English-controlled Irish parliament. English settlers were given lands confiscated from rebellious Irish families, leading to ongoing unrest that flared into rebellions. This was exacerbated by the Dissolution of the Monasteries following the English Reformation. During the reign of Mary Tudor, plantation came to Ireland, and under Elizabeth brutal figures like Walter Raleigh and Richard Bingham mixed cruelty with avarice. The Nine Years War was brutal and bloody, and very nearly succeeded in throwing off English rule, but it would lead instead to disappointment and exile.