In Ireland the case was wholly different: no breath of the "Lutheran" or any other "heresy" had reached its shores; no scattered remnant had preached of doubt and invited inquiry; no translation of the Scriptures had reached the English of the Pale, much less had an Irish version been given to the natives. The "Englishry” and the "Irishry" were both devout followers of the orthodox faith; but they had all along existed as two peoples, each with its distinct religious system. The Anglo-Normans, on their arrival, found the island divided into bishoprics and parishes, and sprinkled with monastic institutions. Where they settled they made use of the existing local divisions; and, Norman-fashion, lavishly endowed fresh religious houses of their own. Henry II. had been acknowledged by the Irish clergy. Where the Crown had power to enforce its will it appointed bishops to the vacant sees; where the natives were independent the pope appointed, sometimes on the king's nomination, and sometimes of his own motion. As the Irish were outlaws there could be no lawful intercourse between the two races. As it was felony to introduce an Irishman into an English monastery, SO was it as much as an Englishman's life was worth for him to enter an Irish one. No bishop or parish priest could remain in Irish territory without the approval of the chieftain, who frequently rejected even the Pope's nominee if he happened to want the appointment for any friend of his own. If the king appointed a bishop to a see in the Irish country, the appointment was a farce: the bishop was simply an absentee, living

in Dublin, and dealing actively in politics. There were, in fact, though unrecognized as such, two distinct orthodox Churches in the island, one in the English and one in the Irish land. As anarchy increased, religion suffered. The English plundered and burnt the Irish abbeys, and the Irish retaliated on those of the Pale. Many of the border monasteries were little better than fortresses, with monks for garrisons, who fought and plundered like the rest of society. The dioceses were frequently left vacant for years. The parish churches and cathedrals beyond the ramparts of the walled towns were despoiled of their furniture and vestments, and fell into utter ruin. The country was desolate, and the population decimated. No tithe could be collected; and the wretched incumbents, without parishioners and without stipends, ceased to fulfil their functions, and withdrew into the religious houses. Everywhere was misery and ignorance; and the spark of religion was only kept alive by the begging friars, Spanish, French, and English, who, at the risk of their lives, continued their mission work, and shared in their wanderings the dangers and poverty of the people.

The clergy themselves were nearly as ignorant as their flocks. There was not an university in all the island. Few natives, either English or Irish, were fit for the office of a bishop. The sees among the Irishry were filled with monks from the monasteries, who took not interest in the parishes within their dioceses; those within reach of the royal arm were filled with imported Englishmen-not always of the best characters, for it was no easy matter to induce the more worthy sort and

the scholars to consent to expatriation. To hope, by means of statutes and arbitrary acts, to force out of the grooves, in which they had run for centuries, a priesthood and a nation blindly wedded to an ancient faith, was little short of madness; yet this was what the forward party proposed to do when set free from the iron grasp of Henry. What wonder that the whole population of the island, both English and Irish, became united in one common bond and one common cause to resist an innovation which they looked upon at once as blasphemous and tyrannical, and was stamped with the detested policy of Anglicizing the Irish nation. A common platform had been found, whereon the people of both bloods could meet. They could sink their mutual jealousies in their enthusiasm for their common belief. Henceforth Anglo-Norman and Celt were to be as one nation. The war of races was passing, the wars of religion were to begin.

These consequences were not, however, at first apparent. The seed was sown, and the crop was to follow; but some time was yet required for its full development. The passing of the Act of Supremacy had not roused the susceptibilities of the nation. In order to carry out his plans Cromwell had, in 1535, appointed George Brown, an Augustinian friar, and a strenuous supporter of the divorce, to be Archbishop of Dublin on the murder of Allen by Silken Thomas. The new prelate was consecrated by Cranmer. He strove like a faithful servant to carry out the Supremacy policy, and readily threw himself into his patron's designs for the sup

pression of image-worship. He amended the liturgy by substituting the king's name for that of the Pope; and where he was able, pulled down the roods from the rood-lofts, and destroyed the shrines and images of the Virgin and other saints. He was strongly opposed by Cromer, Archbishop of Armagh, and the great bulk of the clergy of the Pale. But Cromwell's answer to obstruction was imprisonment; and though many resigned their benefices, a sullen compliance was secured. On the death of Cromer, Henry appointed Dowdal to the primacy; but he was as stern an opponent to the new order of things as his predecessor. Only one other bishop supported Brown, Staples, Bishop of Meath, a moderate man, and one of Henry's recent appointments.

Cranmer and Northumberland had determined to introduce the new liturgy into Ireland; and Sir Anthony St. Leger, who, in consequence of the intrigues of Lord Chancellor Allen and the Irish Council, had been replaced by Sir Edward Bellingham, was sent again to Ireland with instructions to introduce the new service-book. An English version was ordered to be used where English was spoken, and an Irish one where otherwise; but it does not appear that any steps were taken for the making of an Irish translation. St. Leger addressed himself at once to the object of his mission, and summoned a meeting of the Irish clergy in Dublin Castle. On the production of the new liturgy, which was described by the royal proclamation as a translation of the prayers of the Church into the mother tongue, Archbishop Dowdal scornfully refused to receive it, and

rose up with the main body of the clergy, and retired from the conference. Archbishop Brown only remained, with Staples, Bishop of Meath; Quin, Bishop of Limerick; Lancaster, Bishop of Kildare; and Travers, Bishop of Leighlin. These five humbly accepted the king's orders; and the new form of prayer in English and the Bible in English were shortly after read in Christchurch Cathedral. The primacy of all Ireland was next transferred to Dublin from Armagh, which being situated in O'Neil's country was beyond the reach of the Crown, and Dowdal retired to the continent. An Englishman named Goodacre was elevated to the vacant archbishopric; and at the same time John Bale, a fiery and bigoted reformer, was advanced to the see of Ossory.

Some conception of the projects of the reformers was now beginning to dawn upon the people. Their attention had been aroused by the interruption of their beneficial relation to the religious houses, and the casting forth from their homes of the begging friars. Their wonder and indignation had been excited by the destruction of the wonder-working image of "Our Lady of Trim," and of the holy rood of Ballybogan; by the burning in High Street, Dublin, of the sacred "Baculus Jesu," which was believed to have been used by Christ Himself and to have been converted into a crozier by St. Patrick. They were struck with horror at the sacrilegious pillage, by the soldiers in Down, of the shrines and tombs of St. Patrick, St. Bridget, and St. Columbkill; and the atrocious act of vandalism committed by the garrison of Athlone in sacking and razing the