Following the recall to England of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, Borlase and Sir William Parsons were appointed joint Lord Justices of Ireland in February 1641. As Wentworth's successors were either ill (Christopher Wandesford) or absent (Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester) the two men were the virtual rulers of Ireland until their dismissal in 1644 when the Marquis of Ormonde took over as Lord Lieutenant. During their time in office the two had to deal (somewhat ineffectively) with the major Irish insurgency of 1641.