Grey, Lord Leonard

Grey, Lord Leonard (d. 1541), lord deputy, 1536–40. Grey supervised the Reformation parliament (May 1536–Dec. 1537), but is better known as the military‐minded governor who provoked the Gaelic Irish into forming the Geraldine League. He traversed the country each year with his artillery, battering down castles as the Kildares had formerly done. Rather than extracting peace treaties from the Gaelic lords like earlier deputies, Grey now demanded formal submission to English overlordship with heavy tribute and homage. The reformers in Dublin complained that Grey was more interested in initiating a conquest than reorganizing the lordship. In 1540 Conn O'Neill himself wrote to the king about Grey's aggressive style of government. The Butlers (see ormond (butler)) denounced him as ‘the earl of Kildare newly‐born again’. Grey, as brother‐in‐law to Gearóid Óg, 9th earl of Kildare, had tried to gain influence by taking over and utilizing the old Geraldine network. However, it was the threat posed by the Geraldine League which damaged him. Despite the victory at Bellahoe, Henry VIII felt constrained to dispatch money and reinforcements in November 1539. Grey was removed from office in April 1540 and executed for treason in June 1541.

Hiram Morgan