Ireland History

In March, 1649, Oliver Cromwell was appointed by the English Parliament Commander-General for Ireland, and in July he left London in State to take up his office. He landed in Ireland in August, and marched at once to Dublin. He desired to put down as quickly as possible all resistance, and to proceed with the scheme of Confiscation and Plantation which tho Parliament had already outlined. He had no scruple as to methods, no pity or sympathy for the Irish people.

His forces amounted to over 20,000 tried and well-equipped troops, and the artillery was the best and heaviest then in use.
The enemy who were to oppose him. were made up of the parties who had fought in Ireland for the past eight years : Ormondists, Old Irish, Anglo-Irish, and lastly Scotch Presbyterians, a section of whom had been so horrified at the trial and execution of Charles I that they had gone over to the Royalists.

 All these were disorganised, disheartened, suspicious of each other, weary of conflict and intrigues. Ormond, the Royalist General, had garrisoned most of the larger towns which still held for the King’s cause, and against one of the strongest of them, Drogheda, Cromwell now directed his efforts.  

Posted on August 12th, 2008 under Cromwell In Ireland. Tags: Capture, Confiscation, Droghed, irish, oliver cromwell, Parliament Commander-General, people, plantation, siege. Comments: None

Although they had many grievances, being, almost without exception, Catholics, the Lords of the Pale, and most of the Anglo-Irish nobility and gentry elsewhere at first hesitated to join the revolt. On their treatment by the Government authorities their future action would, to a great extent, depend. The Lord Justices, by so wording their first Proclamation as to make it appear that they considered the conspiracy as one of the ” Irish Papists ” in general; by receiving with marked coldness the professions of loyalty of some of the Palesmen, and by denying to several the arms which were absolutely necessary for the defence of their homes and families, certainly showed little discretion ; but their position was, without doubt, a difficult one.
They were aware that these men had little reason to feel attachment to the English Government; that the relatives of many of them were in actual rebellion, and they knew not whom to trust.

The determining factors which induced so many of the Anglo-Irish to throw in their lot with the insurgents were probably : first, the ruthless murders and destruction of property of which the Government troops were guilty ; secondly, the constant insults to their religion, and threats of persecution of it, uttered in the English Parliament and else¬where ; thirdly, the inclusion of the estates of many of them in the list made by the English authorities of the land to be confiscated after the repression of the rebellion (February, 1642).

In December, 1642, seven of the Pale Lords met by appointment five delegates from the insurgents, headed by Rory O’More, on the hill of Crofty near Drogheda. O’More stated the grievances which had induced them to rebel. He protested that they were not disloyal to the King, and begged the Palesmen to join with them in the cause of their country and their religion.

Posted on August 10th, 2008 under The Insurrection Of 1641. Tags: Catholics, English, families, Government, irish, Lord Justices, Palesmen, Papists, rebellion, the Lords of the Pale. Comments: None