The new administrator of Armagh， Robert Wauchope， though suffering from weak sight， was recognised as one of the ablest theologians of his day. He took a prominent part in the religious conference at Worms (1540) and at the Diet of Ratisbon (1541). He attended the Council of Trent during its earlier sessions， and rendered very valuable assistance， particularly in connexion with the decrees on Justification. The date of his consecration cannot be determined with certainty. Probably he was not consecrated until news of the death of Cromer (1543) reached Rome. In 1549 he set out for Scotland， and apparently landed on the coast of Donegal in the hope of inducing O'Neill and O'Donnell to co-operate with the French and the Scots. His efforts were not， however， crowned with success. Finding himself denounced to the government by O'Neill and by George Dowdall， who had been appointed to the See of Armagh by the king， he returned to Rome where he was granted faculties as legate to Ireland， but he died in a few months before he could make any attempt to regain possession of his diocese.[63] Before the death of Cromer Henry VIII.， against the wishes of some members of his council in Ireland， who favoured the nomination of the son of Lord Delvin， had selected George Dowdall， late prior of Ardee， to succeed him in Armagh. Dowdall went to London， in company with Con O'Neill， and received from the king a yearly pension of ā20 together with the promise of the Archbishopric of Armagh.[64] Though he must have given satisfactory assurances to the king on the question of royal supremacy， Dowdall was still in his heart a supporter of Rome， and as shall be seen， he left Ireland for a time rather than agree to the abolition of the Mass and the other sweeping religious innovations that were undertaken in the reign of Edward VI.[65]
At the urgent request of Robert Wauchope Paul III. determined to send some of the disciples of St. Ignatius to Ireland to encourage the clergy and people to stand firm in defence of their religion. St.
Ignatius himself drew up a set of special instructions for the guidance of those who were selected for this important mission. The two priests appointed for the work， Paschasius Broet and Alphonsus Salmeron， together with Franciscus Zapata who offered to accompany them， reached Scotland early in February 1541， and， having fortified themselves by letters of recommendation from the King of Scotland addressed to O'Neill and others， they landed in Ireland about the beginning of Lent. Their report speaks badly for the religious condition of the country at the period. They could not help noting the fact that all the great princes， with one exception， had renounced the authority of the Pope and had refused to hold any communications with them， that the pastors had neglected their duty， and that the people were rude and ignorant， though at the same time not unwilling to listen to their instructions. In many particulars this unfavourable report was well founded， especially in regard to the nobles， but it should be remembered that these Jesuits remained only a few weeks in the country， that they were utterly unacquainted with the manners and customs of the people， and that it would have been impossible for them to have obtained reliable information about the religious condition of Ireland in the course of such a short visit. It should be noted， too， that they placed the responsibility for the failure of their mission on the King of Scotland who failed to stand by his promises.[66]
During the last years of Henry VIII.'s reign St. Leger continued his efforts to reduce the country to subjection not by force but by persuasion. The religious issue was not put forward prominently， and with the exception of grants of monastic lands and possessions very little seems to have been done. The Deputy's letters contain glowing reports of his successes. In the course of the warm controversy that raged between him and John Alen， the Chancellor， during the years 1546and 1547， the various reports forwarded to England are sufficient to show that outside the Pale the English authorities had made little progress. Although St. Leger was able to furnish a striking testimony from the council as to his success， and although a letter was sent by the Irish princes in praise of Henry VIII.[67] (1546)， proofs are not wanting that Henry's policy had met with only partial success.
According to a letter sent by Archbishop Browne in 1546 the Irish people were not reconciled to English methods of government， and according to the chancellor， the king's writ did not run in the Irish districts. The Irishmen who pretended to submit did not keep to their solemn promises. They still followed their own native laws regardless of English statutes， and the king could not get possession of the abbeys or abbey lands situated within their territories. Even the council， which sought to defend the Deputy against these attacks， was forced to admit that his Majesty's laws were not current in the Irish districts.[68] One of the last steps taken by the council at the suggestion of Henry VIII. was the appointment of a vice-regent in spirituals for the clergy， to grant dispensations as they were granted in England by Cranmer， so as to prevent the Irish from having recourse to Rome for such grants.[69]
