 After the Norman invasion of Ireland, only the most securely controlled areas on the east and south coast were shired into "royal counties", with sheriffs answerable to the chief governor based in Dublin.Areas impractical of full control were granted to magnates as "liberties" or "palatine counties", with seneschals appointed by the local overlord.The "crosslands" owned by the church (whether the or a religious order) were exempted from each such grant and remained under royal jurisdiction.