Henry VIII was born on 28th January 1491. In 1521 Henry was, ironically, given the title 'Defender of the Faith' by the Pope for attacking Martin Luther's teaching. Henry's reign was dominated by two very important issues: the need for a male heir to the throne and the Protestant Reformation which led to the formation of the Church of England. Henry had married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine produced only one surviving child - a girl. By the end of the 1520s, Henry's wife was in her forties and he was desperate for a son. He decided to seek a divorce. His grounds were simple- the marriage to his dead brother's wife should never have been allowed in the first place. But Pope Clement VII refused to grand Henry's request. In anger Henry declared himself the Head Of The Church in England and granted his own divorce. This decision was the start of the English Reformation. This development was to be important to Clonmacnoise and indeed all of Ireland. This faith issue was precisely what would spur on the Irish, who had become contented to a degree with English rule, to a revolt. The other effect of the English Protestant Reformation was the Dissolution of Monasteries, under which monastic lands and possessions were broken up and sold off. In the 1520s, some of the small monastic communities were closed down. In 1535-6, another 200 smaller monasteries were dissolved by statute, followed by the remaining greater houses in 1538-40. As a result Crown revenues doubled for a few years. However, Henry's reformation had produced dangerous Protestant - Roman Catholic differences in the kingdom - including Ireland. The monasteries' wealth had been spent on wars and building up the economic strength of the aristocracy which encouraged Tudor court factions. Ironically Henry's six marriages had produced only one sickly son. Popular history now only remembers the insecure succession he handed on of two princesses, Mary and Elizabeth, who at one stage had been declared illegitimate. Both died childless. Henry died in London on 28 January 1547 leaving a tide of religious upheaval and war-won, embittered successors to the throne.