Cromwell... tyrant or misunderstood?

Eamonn Gaffney Whenever the name Oliver Cromwell is mentioned from an Irish perspective, he is considered with a hatred that is Machiavellian in its thought. In terms of deeds of notoriety his name is emblazoned in the history books in the same breath as Hitler, Stalin or even in more recent massacres of large populations in various parts of the world for their disregard of human life. Many writers over the last five centuries have written about Cromwell, some in glowing terms, others firmly in the opposition camp. The latest publication entitled God"s Executioner, Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland is written by Micheal O"Siochru, a native of Dublin. He recently returned there after a number of years at the University of Aberdeen. He lectures in history at Trinity College, Dublin and has written extensively on 17th century Ireland. His publications include Confederate Ireland 1642-1649; A Conditional and Political Analysis (1999, 2nd edition 2008) and Kingdoms in Crises; Ireland in the 1640s (2001). There was a large attendance to hear Professor O"Siochru"s talk on the life of Cromwell in Cavan County Museum. Professor O"Siochru commented on the fact that parts of Irish history were often distorted by such figures as the late Dr Conor Cruise O"Brien and Irish Times journalist, Kevin Myers, but that could not be said of Cromwell"s deeds in Ireland. To provide some indicator of the legacy of Cromwell"s period of tyranny in Ireland and the fact that he is still a hate figure. In the introduction to his book, O"Siochru relates an incident which occurred in 1997 when shortly after the Labour Party"s victory in the British general election, the newly appointed foreign secretary, the late Robin Cooke, received a courtesy visit from then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Mr Ahern entered Cooke"s office but immediately walked out again on seeing a painting of Oliver Cromwell in the room. He refused to return until the foreign secretary removed the picture "of that murdering bastard". Anxious to avoid a diplomatic incident, Cooke made the necessary arrangements. The comedian, author and well-known television personality Stephen Fry related this story at the launch of the Heritage Sector"s "History Matters" campaign in 2006, and commented that "it was a bit like hanging a portrait of Eichmann before the visit of the Israeli prime minister". But O"Siochru puts the Ahern anecdote at the start of his book to illustrate the continuing demonisation of Cromwell by the Irish, and he strives to discover how far it is justified. Misery O"Siochru says the idea of comparing Oliver Cromwell, voted by BBC television viewers as one of the greatest Britons of all time, to a genocidal monster appears preposterous, but he says at least one recent study claimed that the human misery visited on the Irish during the wars of the mid-seventeenth century probably equalled anything inflicted on Russia or Poland in the 1940s by Nazi Germany! The story begins in 1641, years before Cromwell set foot in Ireland, with the rebellion of the Catholic Irish against the Protestant settler community. This started as a revolt by members of the Catholic elite against the colonial government but it quickly became a popular uprising. As news of massacres and atrocities spread, terrified Protestant families fled their homes, making for the garrison towns. The rebels attacked these defenceless refugee-columns, and thousands of innocent civilians perished. The death toll is disputed, but inflammatory English news sheets put it at more than 200,000, arousing a nationwide outcry for revenge against what John Milton called 'those Irish barbarians'. It was the start of a retaliatory war that lasted for more than a decade. He says there is no doubt that Cromwell still evokes extremely strong emotions in Ireland 350 years after his death in 1658. Throughout the island people blame him for every ruined castle or tower house, while local folklore is replete with stories of terrible acts committed by his troops against the native population. Nine months in Ireland Cromwell spent only nine months (August 1649 to May 1650) of his eventful life in Ireland, and yet, says Professor O"Siochru, he stands accused there of war crimes, religious persecution and ethnic cleansing on a dramatic scale. The massacre of thousands of soldiers and civilians by the new Model Army at both Drogheda and Wexford in 1649 must rank among the greatest atrocities in Anglo-Irish history, although the full extent of the slaughter is still disputed by some commentators. Irrefutable evidence, however, detailing the execution of scores of Catholic clergy, the forced transportation of thousands of women and children to work on the sugar plantations of the Carribean, and the deliberate targeting of the civilian population during the latter stages of the war makes decidedly uncomfortable reading for those keen to focus on Cromwell"s undoubted military and political achievements elsewhere. O"Siochru wonders why the public continue to focus so much on this one individual, rather than on a host of other equally controversial characters? The history of Anglo-Irish relations from Henry V111"s Reformation in the 1530s, through the horrors of the Tudor conquest and the wars of the seventeenth century, is a seemingly relentless tale of bloody, tragic, episodes, punctuated by periods of relative peach, which did nothing more than enable both sides to regroup before resuming the struggle once again. Cavan escaped Although Cromwell"s battles were fought mostly along the coastlines of the country, O"Siochru makes reference to the fact that although Cavan escaped the ravages and suffering of other parts of the country, Owen Roe O"Neill played a prominent part in the battle of Benburb when he achieved overwhelming victory over the covenantors in June 1646 but his body, ravaged by decades of campaigning on the Continent and in Ireland, died at Cloughoughter Castle, the home of Sir Phillip McHugh O"Reilly, a staunch ally, and one of the original conspirators in the 1641 Rebellion. Owen Roe"s death deprived the Catholic Irish of their most successful commander, and perhaps the only general with the necessary skills and experience to challenge the parliamentarians on the field of battle. The book is published by Faber and Faber.