[1] His first ecclesiastical preferment was the deanery of Ferns, to which he was appointed by letters patent in 1558; in the following year, 13 July, he became archdeacon of Meath and rector of Kells, and in 1560 he was instituted to the prebend of Tipperkevin in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
Becoming an important Crown adviser, he was made dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, in 1565, and a member of the Privy Council of Ireland.
In 1585 he was promoted to the bishopric of Kilmore, on the recommendation of Sir John Perrot, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and was allowed to hold in commendam his deanery and archdeaconry.
From Kilmore he was translated in May 1589 to the Archbishopric of Armagh, still retaining his minor preferments; in recognition of service, the payment of his first fruits was remitted.
In 1591, in answer to a circular appeal from Sir William FitzWilliam, Lord Deputy, he gave towards the building of Trinity College, Dublin.