 Although the Offaly revolt was followed by a determination to rule Ireland more closely , Henry was wary of drawn @-@ out conflict with the tribes , and a royal commission recommended that the only relationship with the tribes was to be promises of peace , their land protected from English expansion . The man to lead this effort was Sir Antony St Leger , as Lord Deputy of Ireland , who would remain into the post past Henry 's death . Until the break with Rome , it was widely believed that Ireland was a Papal possession granted as a mere fiefdom to the English king , so in 1541 Henry asserted England 's claim to the Kingdom of Ireland free from the Papal overlordship . This change did , however , also allow a policy of peaceful reconciliation and expansion : the Lords of Ireland would grant their lands to the King , before being returned as fiefdoms . The incentive to comply with Henry 's request was an accompanying barony , and thus a right to sit in the Irish House of Lords , which was to run in parallel with England 's . The Irish law of the tribes did not suit such an arrangement , because the chieftain did not have the required rights ; this made progress tortuous , and the plan was abandoned in 1543 , not to be replaced . 
