In March 1541 he wrote to Henry VIII, lamenting the degeneracy of his family, which had rebelled against England in the mid-14th century, and "which have been brought to Irish and disobedient rule by reason of marriage and nurseing [sic] with those Irish, sometime rebels, near adjoining to me", and placing himself and his estates in the king's hands.
The same year he was present at Dublin, when an act was passed making Henry VIII King of Ireland.
"[1] He did not live long to enjoy his new English dignities, but died shortly after returning to Ireland in about March 1544.
He is called by the annalist of Loch Cé "a haughty and proud lord," who reduced many under his yoke, and by the Four Masters "the most illustrious of the English in Connaught".
The eventual successor was Ulick's eldest legitimate son, Richard Sassanach Burke, 2nd Earl of Clanricarde.