Wentworth made many enemies in Ireland, but none more dangerous than Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, the most powerful of the "New English" magnates. A more diplomatic man than Wentworth would no doubt have sought Cork's friendship, but Wentworth saw Cork's great power as a threat to the Crown's central authority, and was determined to curb it. He prosecuted Lord Cork in Castle Chamber for misappropriating the funds of Youghal College; and ordered him to take down the tomb of his first wife in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Cork, a patient and implacable enemy, worked quietly for Wentworth's downfall, and in 1641 recorded calmly in his diary that Wentworth (by then Earl of Strafford) had been beheaded "as he well deserved".