The decision was that the Irish septs inhabiting the episcopal lands enjoyed the freehold; the Bishop or other ecclesiastic had only fixed rents and services. But the Act before mentioned had confiscated the lands of all freeholders. Hence the Irish septs had no rights as against the Crown, and the Church lands were duly swept into the net.[1]
But, since Donegal, Fermanagh, and Cavan had not been included in the scope of the Act attainting Shane O'Neill, a different procedure was necessary in their case.
For Tirconnell the pretext was used that the King's patent had granted the whole country to the Earl, except those portions which had been specifically excepted; and that this grant included the lands of the erenachs "who had no estate by the laws of the realm, but held their lands according to the Irish custom."[2] Similar arguments were used with regard to the Church lands in Fermanagh and Cavan. It is significant that in all three cases the abstracts of Crown title are very brief as compared with those in the case of Armagh and Tyrone. It seems as if Sir John Davies thought that the less said on the subject the better.
Had the confiscation stopped at the four counties to which the Crown had made title as shown above, it is possible that it would not have left behind it such a feeling of cruel injustice. But
