perform the marriage. According to his own version of events, he did so solely to protect Mabel's reputation. His enemies accused him of being suspiciously close to O'Neill, and of taking bribes from him. His friends said that he used this supposed friendship to spy on O'Neill and provide intelligence to the Crown, and it does seem that the Crown gained a good deal of useful information in this way. In April 1605, Adam Loftus died and King James I emphatically chose Jones to be Archbishop of Dublin, commencing the following November. He was also named prebendary of both Castleknock parish of St. Patrick's and the rectory of Trim in the Diocese of Meath: Lord Chancellor In 1605, Jones was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland, a position he held for the rest of his life. He was staunchly anti-Catholic, and a firm supporter of King James's Plantation of Ulster. In 1611, he sat on a Protestant Council in Dublin "to prevent sectarianism and extirpate Popery". He attended the opening of the Parliament of Ireland in 1613, where he gave an important speech. During this period, he had eight Roman Catholics excommunicated, imprisoned for recusancy and then had them reimprisoned after Parliament released them soon afterwards. He was a key ally of Sir Arthur Chichester, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in his policy of extreme severity towards Roman Catholics. Jones was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1613, received an honorary DD degree from the University of Dublin in 1614, and again served as Lord Justice in 1615. He and his son, Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh, were involved in several disputes with Christopher St Lawrence, 10th Baron Howth, the most serious of which involved neglecting the affray in Thomas St. in Dublin in 1609 in which a man was killed. The Crown was anxious to resolve the feud, and in later years Jones and Lord Howth managed to settle their differences and work together amicably. During his time as Archbishop, Jones saw that Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin underwent extensive repairs. On the other hand, he was accused of seriously neglecting the affairs of the Archdiocese, to the extent that many parishes had no vicar. In old age, according to Elrington Ball, Jones suffered a notable deterioration in his character; he became fretful and querulous, and quite unable to bear the robust criticism which all Irish public figures are expected to endure.