A 1709 Penal Act demanded that Catholic priests take the "Oath of Abjuration", and recognise the Protestant Queen Anne as Queen of Great Britain and, by implication, of Ireland. Priests that did not conform were arrested and executed. This activity, along with the deportation of priests who did conform, was a documented attempt to cause the Catholic clergy to die out in Ireland within a generation. Priests had to register with the local magistrates to be allowed to preach, and most did so. Bishops were not able to register.