Most of the Irish people were Catholic. The settlers were mostly Protestant. In Ulster, the largest plantation, settlers were mostly Presbyterians from Scotland. In the other provinces, the settlers were mostly Anglicans from England. English kings and the English Parliament wanted the Irish people to be Anglican. They made the Church of Ireland, a branch of the Anglican Church. The Penal Laws of the 1600s punished Irish people who did not follow the Church of Ireland. The Anglicans grew more powerful. This time was called the Protestant Ascendancy. That was the end of Gaelic Ireland. 