"I remember a fierce debate that my father and Gilleduff had one afternoon sittin' over the roast at the long booley table. They were talkin' of King Henry the Eighth's "Surrender and Regrant" program, a topic of unrivaled possibility for disagreement--a rare bounty for two men who'd give their right arms for a good argument. "Most of the other chieftains in Connaught have succumbed already," said Gilleduff, and Henry calls himself 'King of Ireland.'" "King Henry is a buffoon," Owen snapped. "He could've been a great man, comin' as he did from good Welsh stock, but he's so addled with women he has no time for important things." "The way I see it," Gilleduff said, "is that England--no matter how bloody or ignorant its king--will conquer Ireland in the end, for one reason and one reason alone." "And what is that?" demanded my father. "Centralized government. Loyalty from all--or most--of the great lords of the land to one ruler. What have we got here? A hundred chieftains who think of themselves as the 'High King' of a valley, four hills, and a lake. And every one of 'em, 'cept you and me, are murderin' and thievin' and pillagin' one another year after bloody year. We've weakened ourselves so miserably, it's no wonder that when the chiefs are offered the English titles, they take 'em."