He survived Grey's downfall in 1540 and played a considerable role in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. He outwardly conformed to the Church of Ireland but is said to have remained a member of the Roman Catholic Church in private. He was appointed the Irish Chief Baron in 1540 and held office under each successive Tudor monarch until his death in 1570, being commended for his good service to the Crown, despite some complaints about his slowness in collecting revenue. In his last years his health and faculties began to fail, and there were numerous complaints about his incapacity for office. Sir [[Henry Sidney] Bathe's infirmity, and ], the [[Lord Deputy of Ireland]] wrote to [[Elizabeth I]] caustically in 1567 about the state of the [[Exchequer of Ireland]] : "God knoweth how your revenues and finances are there ordered". He married firstly Marjorie Ballard of [[Drogheda]], who died sometime after 1530, and secondly Elizabeth Burnell, daughter of John Burnell of Balgriffin, and widow of Robert Barnewall of [[Drimnagh Castle]]. By his second wife he had at least two children:  James Bathe became a very substantial' landowner in Dublin: he acquired Drimnagh Castle through marriage and began the building of another castle at [[Drumcondra, Dublin|Drumcondra]], which his son completed, as well as acquiring lands north of the [[River Liffey]]. Like other landowners of the time he was not always scrupulous in his means of acquisition: in 1551 he and his wife received a [[royal pardon]] for "intruding" on lands which should have passed to Edward Barnewall, her son by her first husband. James's son John added greatly to the family's landholdings, but most of it was lost over the next two generations. His daughter Jane is buried beside her husband Sir Lucas at [[Newtown Abbey]], near [[Trim, County Meath]]. Their tomb, which still exists, has the curious local nickname "the tomb of the jealous man and woman". The name may originate from the fact that the effigies of Jane and Lucas are separated by a [[sword of state]], which may hint at an estrangement between them. [[File:Newtown Trim Cathedral.JPG|thumb|200px|"The tomb of the jealous man and woman"- tomb of Bathe's daughter Jane and her husband Sir Lucas Dillon, Newtown Abbey, Trim]]  [[Category:1570 deaths]] [[Category:People from County Meath]] [[Category:People from County Dublin]] [[Category:16th-century Anglo-Irish people]] [[Category:Year of birth uncertain]] [[Category:Chief Barons of the Irish Exchequer]]