| Short Title: | Counties of Leix and Offaly Act 1556 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of Ireland |
| Long Title: | An act for the disposition of Leix and Offaily. |
| Year: | 1556 |
| Citation: | 3 & 4 Phil. & Mar. c. 1 (I) |
| Territorial Extent: | Kingdom of Ireland |
| Status: | repealed |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Settlement of Laois and Offaly Act 1556 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of Ireland |
| Long Title: | An Act whereby the King and Queen's Majesties, and the Heires and Successors of the Queen, be entituled to the Counties of Leix, Slewmarge, Irry, Glinmaliry, and Offaily, and for making the same Countries Shire Grounds. |
| Citation: | 3 & 4 Phil. & Mar. c. 2 (I) |
| Territorial Extent: | Kingdom of Ireland |
| Repeal Date: | 24 November 1962 |
| Status: | repealed |
The Settlement of Laois and Offaly Act 1556 (3 & 4 Phil. & Mar. c. 2 (I)) was an Act of the Parliament of Ireland passed in 1556 which resulted in the creation of Queen's County and King's County in the midlands of Ireland, and the establishment of two shire towns at Maryborough (Portlaoise) and Philipstown (Daingean), named in honour of Queen Mary I and King Phillip II.[1] The act was the first Tudor attempt at plantation in Ireland and was designed to formally open up the area to English settlement.
The act displaced the ruling O'More (or Moore) clan of Loígis and the O'Connor rulers of the Kingdom of Uí Failghe by declaring their lands to be the legal possession of the English monarch. In 1922, Queen's County was renamed Laois and King's County was renamed Offaly. The act was repealed by Dáil Éireann in 1962.[2] [3]