Towards the end of the reign of King Henry VIII, George Grenlegh or Grenley (c.1539) of Edgbaston, Warwickshire, became part of the executive of the Lordship of Ireland, acting as agent to Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane, the Lord Deputy of Ireland. Family involvement in Ireland grew, when in the mid 16th century, they were granted additional lands and estates, near the city of Limerick, Munster, by Queen Elizabeth I and Thomas Wentworth, 1st Baron Wentworth, the Lord Chamberlain, to establish various armouries for small arms and culverin cannon. However, as committed Protestants, the family line that settled there were subjected to religious persecution during the reign of King William III, and their lands and Hall were destroyed in response to the ongoing religious and monarchical turmoil of the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly that surrounding the Battle of the Boyne.