Above : St. Patrick's Cathedral Since 1585 no Parliament had sat in Ireland : now it appeared expedient that one should be summoned ; not only because the King was in urgent need of money, but also in order to legalise the confiscation of the Ulster lands by the attainder of their former possessors. So far, Irish Parliaments had been representative only of a part, and that by no means a large part, of the country; the districts namely which were really ... Read More