vacant upon the excommunication of Elizabeth by Pope Pius V, in his 1570 papal bull Regnans in Excelsis, and that it was rumoured that Stucley was to be sent to England with 14 to 15 companies of troops. Amidst this international feinting and shaping, the Catholic Archbishop of Cashel, Maurice Reagh Fitzgibbon – an ally of the Irish leader in Munster James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald – made some effort while in Spain to discredit Stucley's ambitions , much to the displeasure of Feria, and was supported by the Duke of Alba, who dismissed the proposed invasion on the ground that once England fell, Ireland would fall of itself. The archbishop's brief was to request the appointment of John of Austria, nicknamed Don John, as king of Ireland. On removing to Paris, Fitzgibbon informed the English ambassador there, Sir Francis Walsingham, of Stucley's plan. In 1570, Stucley sought to have an English spy, Oliver King, brought before the Spanish Inquisition. King had a history of attendance at Mass and of knocking his breast daily and so was merely stripped and banished, but then had to cross the Pyrenees in the snow while Stucley's men pursued him. Stucley obtained his passport to leave Spain after Elizabeth demanded his dismissal. Stucley moved to Rome, where he found favour with Pope Pius V, who had excommunicated Elizabeth in 1571. He was given the command of three galleys at the Battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571), and showed great valour. It was a crucial victory for the Holy League over the Ottoman Empire of Selim II, and allowed Spain to devote more resources to its campaigns in northern Europe. Stucley's exploits restored him to favour in Madrid, and by the end of March 1572 he was at Seville, offering to hold the narrow seas against the English with a fleet of twenty ships. In four years (1570–1574) he is said to have received over 27,000 ducats from Philip II of Spain, but wearied by the king's delays he sought more serious assistance from the new pope, Gregory XIII, who aspired to make his son Giacomo Boncompagni King of Ireland. Rome Stucley allied with Fitzmaurice and moved to Rome in 1575, where he is said to have walked about the streets and churches barefoot and bare-legged. In June, Stucley had an interview at Naples with his Lepanto commander Don John, and passed on details of the plans