But in 1494 Henry took the country in hand.

Sir Edward Poynings, a tried soldier, was despatched as deputy to Ireland with troops at his back.

English officers, English judges were quietly sent over.

The Lords of the Pale were scared by the seizure of their leader, the Earl of Kildare.

The Parliament of the Pale was bridled by a statute passed at the Deputy's dictation; the famous Poynings Act, by which it was forbidden to treat of any matters save those first approved of by the English king and his Council.