Nevertheless, Henry was determined to carry through a policy of dissolution in Ireland — and in

1537 introduced legislation into the Irish Parliament to legalise the closure of monasteries. The
process faced considerable opposition, and only sixteen houses were suppressed. Henry remained
resolute however, and from 1541 as part of the Tudor conquest of Ireland he continued to press for
the area of successful dissolution to be extended. For the most part, this involved making deals with
local lords, under which monastic property was granted away in exchange for allegiance to the new
Irish Crown; and consequently Henry acquired little if any of the wealth of the Irish houses.
By the time of Henry's death (1547) around half of the Irish houses had been suppressed; but many
continued to resist dissolution until well into the reign of Elizabeth I, and some houses in the West of
Ireland remained active until the early 17th century. In 1649, Oliver Cromwell led a Parliamentary
army to conquer Ireland, and systematically sought out and destroyed former monastic houses.
Subsequently, however, sympathetic landowners housed monks or friars close to several ruined
religious houses, allowing them a continued covert existence during the 17th and 18th centuries,
subject to the dangers of discovery and legal ejection or imprisonment.