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Oliver Cromwell
Ulster Rebellion
In October 1641 the Ulster Irish initiated a revolt, led by Owen Roe O'Neill, nephew of Hugh O'Neill. Soon the Ulster Rebellion spread over the rest of the country. In all approximately 3,000 settlers were killed during these disturbances. It is very likely though that these numbers were exaggerated to prevent King Charles I from making peace.
There are several eyewitness reports referring to cruel acts committed by the rebels. One well-documented massacre took place near Portadown in County Armagh in the autumn of 1641.
A stream of refugees tried to escape Ulster, but was intercepted by rebels at the River Bann near Portadown. The refugees, mainly women, elderly and children, were forced to undress and to jump from a bridge in the freezing water. Rows of swords and pikes on the river banks prevented the victims to escape and those who did not drowned died of hypothermia. The song Portadown tells the story of this massacre.
The exact circumstances and death toll varies. Some state that both end of the bridge were set on fire after the group was rounded up on the bridge, while according to others the bridge already had been destroyed by fire or otherwise and that the group was forced to walk off the broken bridge. Obviously the one does not necessarily exclude the other. Depending on the author and his intentions the number of deaths varies from 80 up to 380.
Initially the Catholic Duke of Ormonde, James Butler, was in command of the English forces in Ireland, but in 1645 he joined the rebels and led the Confederation, an alliance of Royalists in Ireland.
Murrough O'Brien, the Baron of Inchiquin and an Irish Protestant, was sent to fight the Confederation and seemingly he was very good in his job as he earned the nickname Murrough of the Burnings. For some reason O'Brien decided in 1647 to join forces with the Duke of Ormonde.
England reacted by sending 2000 troops under command of Colonel Michael Jones. By expelling members and sympathisers, which means all the Catholics, of the Confederation from Dublin and defeating them at Rathmines in August 1649 he pulled the teeth of the Duke of Ormonde. At that moment Oliver Cromwell, who's military career has rocketed during the English Civil War, and his so-called Parliamentary Army stepped in to finish the job.
Drogheda and Wexford
Oliver Cromwell
Cromwell, who arrived in Dublin on 15 August 1649, had planned to capture Drogheda first. The Duke of Ormonde had stationed only 2220 troops in the city, because of the geographic situation and the sophisticated defensive structures of the city, the saying was He who can take Drogheda can take Hell. The walls of Drogheda however were not proofed against the cannons and the city fell after a fierce fight. Once inside the city the Cromwellian forces killed about everything on their path, even priests and friars. It is estimated that 4000 Confederates and Catholics were killed.
The second city Cromwell was intended to capture was Wexford, because its port was used by the Confederates to receive weapons. Cromwell was in a rush. He wanted to capture Wexford before the Confederate troops had recovered and regrouped and, perhaps more important, before the winter closed in.
The Duke of Ormonde immediately sent reinforcements, including 100 cannons and three heavily armed ships, to Wexford. Even Cromwell had to admit that the town was pleasantly seated and strong. Whatever the defence, it is useless when a traitor let the enemy in. In Wexford this traitor was Captain James Wexford who let Cromwell in.
Once inside the Drogheda massacre repeated. Hundreds of men were killed. Women standing at the cross on a square were all slaughtered. About 2000 people were killed that day, 11 October 1649, in Wexford.
With fresh reinforcements and unlimited finances Cromwell marched to Ross. Frightened by the events at Drogheda and Wexford the town and its defenders, mostly men of Baron of Inchiquin, surrendered without a fight.
Waterford
The surrender at Ross had a devastating effect on the Confederation, but the worst had yet to come.
In November Owen Roe O'Neill signed a treaty with the Duke of Ormonde. Soon thereafter O'Neill died at Cloughoughter Castle in County Cavan. The rumour that O'Neill was poisoned caused distrust in the Irish alliance.
In the meantime Cromwell deployed agents. They used the distrust to widen the gaps between the Irish Catholics, the Catholic Confederation and Baron of Inchiquin Protestant troops.
At the end of November Cromwells army lay siege to Waterford, but winter and problems with his physical health forced them to retire.
During the first months of 1650 Cromwells troop captured several other smaller cities. Most cities either surrendered or were abandoned in the sight of the Parliamentary Army. Only at Clonmel, defended by Hugh Dubh O'Neill, a nephew of Owen Roe O'Neill, Cromwell met some serious resistance.
In May 1650 Cromwell returned to England to beat down a Scottish invasion. Other commanders followed and in May 1652 the last city, Galway, surrendered to the Parliamentary Army.
It is estimated that over 600,000 people were killed in the Confederate War which started in 1641.
Cromwell's legacy
Oliver Cromwell himself served in Ireland for less than a year, but he made an indelible impression and became some sort of mythical figure.
British soldiers in Northern Ireland are still called Cromwells Men, as you can read in the song Men Behind the Wire.
If you count all the buildings in Ireland which are said to be ruined by Cromwells army he had to be a supernatural being.
Nevertheless, by his actions Cromwell drew the outlines of the problematic relation between the British slash Protestants and the Irish slash Catholics, which caused centuries of misery on Ireland and which is still existing in Northern Ireland.