Reputations: Oliver Cromwell In Ireland

Ireland in Key Stage 3 History (Year 8)

Reputations Sources: Cromwell at Drogheda By Richard Bailey Ansford Community School, Castle Carey & Chris Culpin SHP

Cromwell’s campaign in Ireland The Race to Rule. Ireland and Europe 1570-1700 by A. Hodge, Colourpoint Books, 1-89839-249-8, p. 62

‘Ireland in Schools’

Bath & Somerset Pilot Scheme

Bath Spa University College

Introduction This collection of sources on Cromwell at Drogheda is used in Year 8, towards the end of a series of lessons on the English Civil war. The sources are discussed and questions are asked relating to the sources. Tasks The plantation of Ulster Division Cromwell on Drogheda Interpretations Appendix ‘Young Ned of the Hill’, The Pogues

3 4 5 6 7 8

The unit addresses two broad skills - the reputation of historical and interpretations of history. Listening to ‘Young Ned of the Hill’ by The Pogues sets the mood.

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Tasks 1.

Listen to ‘Young Ned of the Hill’ by the Pogues (without the lyrics). Discuss the tone of the song. What sort of music is it? What are they saying?

2.

Read through the following two pages of booklet, discussing plantations and studying the maps (Protestant English had the ‘nice’ houses; poor Catholic Irish lived in tumbledown cottages. Large church would have been Protestant etc.)

3.

Study ‘A vicious circle’ diagram and answer the following questions (adding own knowledge from previous discussion): a. Why did the Irish hate the English? b. Why did the English hate the Irish?

4.

Study the English view of the Irish Rebellion (linking in with previous lesson on Trigger 2 of English Civil War): a. Describe what the picture shows. b. Decipher the ‘olde’ English at the top.

5.

Read Cromwell’s own report to Parliament after the events at Drogheda, and examine the map: a. According to Cromwell, what happened at Drogheda (bullet points). b. How does Cromwell justify his actions?

6.

Listen to ‘Young Ned of the Hill’ again, this time with the lyrics: a. What do the Pogues think of Cromwell? b. Why do you think they think this?

7.

Read Antonia Fraser’s piece on the events at Drogheda. Explain who she is, discuss how she would have obtained information, evidence etc. a. What does she say about Cromwell? b. Does she attempt to justify his actions? How? What does she say?

8.

Sentiments and accuracy in interpretation: a. Which of the two views of Cromwell would you trust more? Explain in detail b. Whose sentiments would you go along with, the Pogues’ or Antonia Fraser’s? (Some explanation of justification and sentiments may be required)

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The plantation of Ulster

The Vintners’ Settlement at Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Ulster, 1622 The Making of the United Kingdom by C. Culpin, Collins Educational 0-00327-243-5, p. 51

Plantation of Londonderry The Race to Rule. Ireland and Europe 1570-1700 by A. Hodge, Colourpoint Books, 1-89839-249-8, p. 64

Province of Ulster Rivalry and Conflict by A.Logan & K Gormley Colourpoint Books, 1-89839-212-9, p. 27

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Division IRISH • • • •

Roman Catholic English were taking their lands for plantations English did not understand their way of life English behaved brutally

• • • • •

ENGLISH Protestant Irish could rebel at any time with foreign help Irish were backward savages English settlers the best way of civilising Ireland Irish behaved brutally

‘A vicious circle’ The Making of the United Kingdom by C. Culpin, Collins Educational, 0-00327-243-5, p. 51

An English view of an incident in the Irish Rebellion of 1641

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Cromwell on Drogheda

His own report to Parliament in England about what happened at Drogheda, Dublin, 17th September 1649

Sir, Your army came before the town of Drogheda on 3rd September. On Monday 9th the battering guns [cannon] began to play [fire at the town]. I sent Sir Arthur Aston, the Governor, [commander of the defenders] a summons [order] to deliver the town [surrender]. Receiving no satisfactory answer, the guns fired two or three hundred shot, beat down the corner tower, and opened tip two reasonable breaches [big holes] in the east and south wall. Upon Tuesday the 10th, about five o'clock in the evening, we began the storm [attacked the town] and after some hot fighting we entered, about seven or eight hundred men, the enemy disputing it very stiffly with us. Several of the enemy retreated to the Mill Mount, a place very strong and difficult to attack. The Governor, Sir Arthur Aston, being there, our men getting up to them were ordered by me to put all to the sword [kill all of them]. And indeed, being in the heat of the action, l forbade them to spare any people who carried weapons in the town and I think that night they put to the sword 2, 000 men. Many of their officers and soldiers fled over the bridge into the other part of the town, where about 100 of them possessed [went into] St Peter's church steeple. These being summoned to yield to mercy [told they would be treated well if they surrendered, refused, whereupon I ordered the steeple of St Peter’s Church to be fired [set on fire]. One of them was heard to say in the flames ‘God damn me, God confound me. I burn, I burn’. The next day the other two towers were summoned [asked to surrender], in one of which was about six or seven score [120 - 140 soldiers]. But they refused to yield [surrender]. We knew that hunger must force them and set good guards to stop them running away. 'When they submitted [surrendered], their officers were knocked on the head [killed] and every tenth man of the soldiers killed. The rest were captured. The last Lord’s Day [Sunday] before the storm, they had a Mass [Catholic church service] in St Peter’s Church. About one thousand Catholics were put to the sword, fleeing there for safety. I believe all the friars [Catholic preachers] were knocked on the head except two. One the soldiers took [captured] and made an end of [killed]. The other was captured in the round tower. He confessed he was a friar, but that did not save him. I believe that this is a righteous [good] judgement of God upon these barbarous wretches, who leave dipped their hands in so much innocent blood [murdered many innocent people]. And it will help to prevent more bloodshed in the fixture. It was God who gave your men courage. It is good that God has all the glory. I do not think we lost 100 men, though many be wounded. Your most obedient servant, Oliver Cromwell.

A plan of Drogheda in the midseventeenth century.

Cromwell’s soldiers broke into the town at St Mary’s Churchyard (A). The massacre of the garrison took place at Millmount (B). St Peter’s Church (C) was burned down on Cromwell’s orders.

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Interpretations A.

‘Young Ned of the Hill’, The Pogues A curse upon you, Oliver Cromwell, You who raped our motherland, I hope you’re rotting down in Hell, For the horrors that you sent. To our misfortunate forefathers Whom you robbed of their birthright, ‘To Hell or Connaught’* - may you burn in Hell tonight.

* Connaught is an area of Western Ireland with poor rocky soil. Thousands were forced to live there after Cromwell’s conquest of Ireland.

Cromwellian land settlement, 1652 The Race to Rule. Ireland and Europe 1570-1700 by A. Hodge, Colourpoint Books, 1-89839-249-8, p. 64

B.

From Antonia Fraser’s biography of Cromwell, 1973

1.

Drogheda taught the lesson of what a siege and a storm meant. It undoubtedly frightened many lesser garrisons into peaceful surrender. Militarily then the sack of Drogheda could fairly be said to have done what Cromwell wanted.

2.

The conclusion cannot be escaped that Cromwell lost his self-control at Drogheda, literally saw red - the red of his comrades’ blood - after the failure of the first assaults, and was seized with one of his sudden brief and cataclysmic rages. There were good military reasons for behaving as he did, but they were not the motives that drove him at the time, during the day and night of uncalculated butchery. The slaughter itself stood quite outside his normal record of careful mercy as a soldier.

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Appendix

‘Young Ned of the Hill’, The Pogues Have you ever walked the lonesome hills And heard the curlews* cry Or seen the raven black as night Upon a windswept sky To walk the purple heather And hear the westwind cry To know that’s where the rapparee* must die Since Cromwell pushed us westward To live our lowly lives There’s some of us have deemed to fight From Tipperary mountains high Noble men with wills of iron Who are not afraid to die Who’ll fight with Gaelic honour held on high A curse upon you Oliver Cromwell You who raped our Motherland I hope you’re rotting down in hell For the horrors that you sent To our misfortunate forefathers Whom you robbed of their birthright ‘To hell or Connaught’ may you burn in hell tonight Of one such man I’d like to speak A rapparee by name and deed His family dispossessed and slaughtered They put a price upon his head His name is known in song and story His deeds are legend still And murdered for blood money Was young Ned of the hill You have robbed our homes and fortunes Even drove us from our land You tried to break our spirit But you’ll never understand The love of dear old Ireland That will forge an iron will As long as there are gallant men Like young Ned of the hill

* Curlews - Shore birds * Rapparee - Vagabond, one with no home

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