the authorities and were sent to England, where O'More died.[1]
This was the first considerable success obtained by the English over the old Irish for more than two centuries, and accordingly the project was formed under Edward VI., and materialised under Mary to extend the shire ground, and secure it by a settlement of men of English blood.
As to the title of the Crown to the lands, Offaly had been claimed with more or less of legal right by the Earls of Kildare, and by their attainder their rights were vested in the Crown. Leix as part of the Mortimer inheritance already was Crown property. The fact that the O'Conors had never been dispossessed of their lands and that the O'Mores had recovered theirs two centuries before was not allowed by the authorities to have any weight, since as alien enemies the Irish had no rights valid according to English law.
The area of confiscation by legal subtleties had, however, not begun, and Parliament contented itself with vesting in the King and Queen the countries of Leix, Slewmarge, Offalie, Leix, and Glynmalire, merely asserting that these lands were their Majesties', and making no attempt to prove any title.[2]
Another Act gave power to the Deputy, the Earl of Sussex, to dispose of the lands to all and every of their Majesties' subjects, English or Irish
- ↑ Bellingham in 1548 overran the territories and built forts.
- ↑ Third and Fourth Philip and Mary, Chaps. 1 and 2.
A very full account of the proceedings with regard to Leix and Offaly, by Mr. R. Dunlop, is to be found in the English Historical Review, 1891.
