God's Executioner

by Micheál Ó Siochrú

Cromwell spent only nine months of his eventful life in Ireland, yet he stands accused there of war crimes, religious persecution and ethnic cleansing. 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: a tale that makes decidedly uncomfortable reading for those keen to focus on Cromwell's undoubted military and political achievements elsewhere.In a century of unrelenting, bloody warfare and religious persecution throughout Europe, Cromwell was, in many ways, a product of his times.

As commander-in-chief of the army in Ireland, however, the responsibilities for the excesses of the military must be laid firmly at his door, while the harsh nature of the post-war settlement also bears his personal imprint. Cromwell was no monster, but he did commit monstrous acts. A warrior of Christ, somewhat like the crusaders of medieval Europe, he acted as God's executioner, convinced throughout the horrors of the legitimacy of his cause, and striving to build a better world for the chosen few. He remains, therefore, a remarkably modern figure, somebody to be closely studied and understood, rather than simply revered or reviled.

Genres: History, Ireland, Nonfiction, Irish Literature, War, Biography, British Literature

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Regina Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cromwell, a committed Puritan, is an incredibly controversial figure in British history. On the one hand BBC viewers proclaimed him one of the greatest Britons of all time. Conversely, he evokes viscerally strong emotions from the Irish. Having only spent nine months in Ireland between 1649-1650, he is considered by the Irish a war criminal, a religious persecutor, and ethnic cleanser as he continued to carry out the work of the British crown bringing natives and Catholics into subjection.

Cromwell was one of the signatories that brought about Charles I's execution, inflaming the Irish situation. Having little military experience he was tapped to lead troops into Ireland. In the summer of 1649, Cromwell was sent to Ireland with two objectives: to place it firmly under English control; to superintend the confiscation the land of all 'rebels' - as a result almost forty per cent of the land of Ireland was redistributed from Catholics born in Ireland to Protestants born in Britain. His first target was the town of Drogheda north of Dublin which he stormed and captured. Perhaps 2,500 men, mainly in arms, were killed during the storm and several hundred more - all the officers, all Catholic priests and friars, every tenth common soldier - were killed, many clubbed to death. It was in accordance with the laws of war, but it went far beyond what any General had done in England. Cromwell then perpetrated a messier massacre at Wexford. Thereafter most towns surrendered on his approach, and he scrupulously observed surrender articles and spared the lives of soldiers and civilians. It was and is a controversial conquest. But, from the English point of view, it worked. In the summer of 1650, he returned to England and was sent off to Scotland, where Charles II had been proclaimed and crowned as King of Britain and Ireland. In a campaign as unrelenting but less brutal, he wiped out the royal armies and established a military occupation of the lowlands and west that was to last until 1660. In September 1651 he returned to a roman-style triumphant entry in London.

As I go through this study of Irish history I'm amazed at the profound effect Henry VII's separation from the Catholic church impacted the Irish. Readers, both fiction and historical non-fiction, are often attracted to the Tudor period for a number of reasons. Often it is the salacious nature of his relationship with his wives that receive the most focus. But, so far at least in my study, actions approximately 600 years ago are still felt on the island that now stands divided between north and south.

[Gareth Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Professor Michéal Ó Siochrú doesn't know about 17th-century Ireland could probably fit on the proverbial head of the pin, as he demonstrates in this thoroughly researched and excoriating history of Oliver Cromwell's stint as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. If Cromwell doesn't quite emerge as demonic as he does from Irish legends memorialising his attacks on towns like Drogheda, Dundalk, and Wexford, his Irish policy nonetheless was irredeemably one of a violence and cruelty that was exceptional even by the standards of the 1640s. Ó Siochrú is fair in placing Oliver Cromwell in his context, especially within the history after 1644 of his parliamentarian allies to conflate their anti-Irish prejudices with anti-royalist military campaigns. Even with that duly understood, however, it is hard not to be left stunned by the ways in which military tradition was deliberately suppressed in order to make the Irish campaign particularly brutal. Well-supported in furthering its arguments, with extensive footnotes and a superb grasp of the context leading up to the fall of Drogheda, "God's Executioner" is an excellent account that puts the tragedies of the 1640s and 1650s properly in their historical context, without ever diminishing their human cost.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the two-part TV program based on this book on RTE while I was in Ireland; then while browsing in a bookstore in Sligo I saw the book and immediately bought it based on how impressed I was by the TV program. The book doesn't disappoint. It is a comprehensive examination of what happened in Ireland between the start of the uprising in November 1641, and the final expulsion of Catholics to Connacht in 1653-54. It retains a laser-like focus on Ireland, going farther afield only when necessary to give context to the events of the central narrative; so there's little detail of, say, the English Civil War or relations between England and the Continent during this period, and I count that among the books strengths.

I was surprised at how thoroughly but engagingly O'Siochru examined the period from all aspects--military operations, logistics, politics, culture, religion, key personalities. From a gamer's perspective, one could make a very solid game based solely on this book. It could include things like financing for the war, random events like the involvement of the Duke of Lorraine, even (for the English player) having to balance promising confiscated lands to army veterans (too little and they start deserting, too much and the Irish resist more fiercely). It would include, as the book does, regular military operations between the New Model Army and the Irish "Confederates," including siege warfare and open-land campaigns, and later operations by the Tories in English-occupied areas.

At only 270 pages and written in a very engaging style, this book is a must read for anyone wishing to know about this pivotal period in Irish history.

[Míceál Ó Gealbháin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will make your blood boil. Place Cromwell up there with Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Andrew Jackson.

[Evan Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent jumping-in point if you've ever been curious about the Royalist/Parliamentary confict, the Irish/English conflict, or the Irish Protestant/Catholic conflict. This is a really good book that should inspire many to read more about 16th and 17th century Europe or any of the conflicts mentioned above.

[Mark Durrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very detailed and well researched account of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Though, more detail on the man - Oliver Cromwell - would not have gone amiss.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of the arrival of Cromwell in Ireland and the subsequent plantation of the settlers. This affects Irish history today, with the remnants of the settlers still living in Ireland.

[Pablo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recomendación de Igor. Me lo he gozado como un niño. No quería seguir leyendo para que no se acabase. Encima me ha costado 6 euros. Un recorrido apasionante por las guerras civiles inglesas en Irlanda y sobre las campañas, no solo de Cromwell en la isla, sino desde 1641. Esencial para entender el impacto de los procesos politicos entre 1641-1660 que llevaran al fracaso del bando confederado/monarquico y a la consolidacion de la clase protestante como terrateniente. Una historia de la violencia, religion, politica y ejercito desde multiples angulos, que evalúa los discursos y los hechos. Para mi punto de vista lo única pega es que las referencias vienen al final y sin marcar, supongo que por la edicion. Pero el uso de las fuentes y cómo utiliza casos particulares para introducir cada etapa de la guerra o tema lo hace magistral. Haces que estes en cada uno de los asedios y en cada una de las personas que sufrieron estas guerras. 10/10

[Matthías Ólafsson]

Frábær greining á þessu hræðilega tímabili írskrar sögu.

[Jo-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book on a recent trip abroad in an effort to understand a comment made by my late father. It may be that our family has a genealogical connection to Cromwell, and my father retorted "and you're proud of that? Look what he did to Ireland!". Puzzled, I looked further...

O'Siochru paints a detailed and very devastating portrait of the invasion of Ireland by Cromwell and the New Model Army and the consequences thereof. He does not use this phrase specifically, but to me it can only be described as a form of ethnic and religious cleansing directed at Irish Catholics in particular. Of course, the greatest price paid is by the common people...men, women and children caught in the middle of political and religious machinations. Survivors were driven to the province of Connacht, and the landscape of Ireland has been changed since then.

He is clear to point our that alliances and feuds were not draw in a clear cut manner down ethnic and political lines, real life being more nuanced as it is. The premise that led to the invasion, as I understand it, was a greatly exaggerated tale of the massecre of Irish Protestants at the hands of Papists, lighting the fuse of religious righteousness and thirst for revenge by English Protestants at the time. I could not always keep the goal posts straight as alliances kept shifting. Responsibility for the outcome was shared - not just with the avengers, but as a result of failurees on the part of the Irish Royalists and Catholic gentry. He does point out that many Irish Protestants were Royalists also. Cromwell was the superior military tactician and ultimately his side prevailed.

My sadness is for the common folk who lost their foundations, if not their lives. However, in looking at Ireland today - it's culture, economy, stability - after so many years of conflict, one is moved by the resilience of the people and their ability to rebuild. That resilience is the real victory to me as a lay person understanding the history of my Irish ancestors.

Recommended for those who like history.

[Senioreuge · Rating 5 out of 5]

within a certain section of Irish society Cromwell's name is so much said as spat. He was however a very complex person a product of the republican fervour of his time. Undoubtedly he left a terrible legacy in Ireland despite his short sojourn here. And if this book reveals anything its the absolute certainty of his religious fervour which allowed, or directed, him to do as he did. After all if he could kill his king he would hardly hesitate at killing Catholics in Ireland or indeed elsewhere.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand that Micheal O Siochru wanted to be unbiased, though this book was trying to be more to do with England's attempt at conquest with a very scant mention of Cromwell but there was little of anything really said at all.

[Kristofer McCormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Micheál Ó Siochrú sets out -and achieved-with this book is to articulate why Cromwell's name is still mud in Ireland to this day, over 400 years after he first arrived in the country. How someone who was only here for two weeks had such a devasting and lasting impact on the nation. In this pursuit, he turns Cromwell from a evil caricature into an actual human being, who had actual (stay with me) feelings about his actions in Ireland. Probably my favorite chapter in the whole book is on Drogheda where Ó Siochrú quotes extensively from Cromwell's own letters and diaries to show a man possibly wrestling with his conscious after the mass slaughter that had taken place. He feels the need to justify his role as military strategy and God's will. This treatment doesn't absolve Cromwell, but contextualizes him. There were certainly dissenters in 1640s English society, but they were in the minority to the voices who wanted to see Catholics suffer for their "crimes".

I think this commitment to primary sources and material allows this book to also push back on a strictly sectarian narrative of this period of Irish history. Fredrich Engels understood the Cromwellian period as the birth of a new bourgeoise against the old pre-reformation English order. I think this understanding holds up in God's Executioner, both in the conservative nature of the initial Irish rebellion in 1641 by a Old English Catholic gentry that felt threatened by the new Protestant order in England and the Royalist Protestant leadership of Ireland after the execution of Charles I. Religion played a massive role in sinking the royalist cause in Ireland and the widespread bigotry of the time, but the major dividing line of this conflict was still between those who benefited from the Stuart's establishment rule and those who had been initially empowered by Henry VIII and wanted a break from the old order of absolute monarchy.

Last but not least, it is alarming how the language and methods of ethnic cleansing of the 1650s land settlements are still relevant to events taking place in the world today. My favorite quote about history has always been Mark Twain "History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes" and the ending of this book reminded me of this in the worst ways possible.

[james · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The aged commander sought clarification from Ormond on “whether [to] leave my bones in the place as a sacrifice to my country”, or to seek the best terms possible.’

‘“You may ride 20 miles”, the author wrote, “and scarce discern any thing or fix your eye upon any object, but dead men hanging on trees and gibbots: A sad spectacle but there’s no remedy; so perfidious are the people, that we are enforced thereunto for the safeguard of our own lives.”’

‘“Our tents are not so good a covering as your houses.”’

//

o’neill’s 1641 rebellion against protestant settlers being held up by the colonial regime as an original sin — the ‘start of the war’ — to excuse the ‘retaliation’ of seizing every major stronghold across three of the four provinces, & reducing catholic landholdings from 60% to 20% of the island? turning connacht into a ghetto after slaughtering/deporting/transferring thousands of irish catholic natives? london propagandists scandalously inflating figures of protestants killed by confederates, while glossing over the atrocities of cromwell’s invasion? oh, so it’s always like this.

given how radically the picture changes before & after the arrival of the new model army, this seems like a good moment to work both forward & back from.

can’t believe that after the descriptions of the drogheda & wexford massacres, I was still able to be completely shook at the book’s death by an offhand image of a recalcitrant catholic landholder — during fleetwood’s forcible-transfer-to-connacht policy — hanged with a placard reading ‘for not transplanting’.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not many fan’s of Cromwell in our house when I was growing up.
But over the years I have met many admirers of the political changes attempted by the Puritan regime.
This strips away and correctly criticises the hyperbole attached to accounts from all factions in the invasion of Ireland.
But what remains is more than brutal enough.
An enjoyable, if difficult read.

[Michael Cawley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much Cromwell in this Cromwell book. It reads more as history of bickering Irish nobles who failed to adequately confront British forces. The title is quite misleading.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid history of Ireland during the Wars of the 3 Kingdoms. In spite of the title, much of the book deals with the roles of Ireton and others in Ireland vs. Cromwell himself.

[Rachel Kolar · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50 pages. I am begging this author to learn that punctuation marks other than the period and the comma exist.

[Domhnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'd want to be somewhat familiar with the timeline of the English Civil Wars as this book assumes you have a base level understanding of them.
For a book about Cromwell he's not in it much! He leaves Ireland after about 10 months of the war to head back to England to fight the Scottish Covenanters. Not before he would visit his idea of "Justice" on Irish people in Drogheda and Wexford in the form of massacres on townspeople and garrisoned armies. After the war the Native Irish population would be forcibly transplanted out of Leinster, Munster and Ulster to Connacht. Others would be impressed into indentured servitude in the british colonies in the West Indies. Famine and disease would be rife in Ireland and subsequently a huge swath of the population would die.
What this book does focus on however and covers in great detail is the war between the English Parliament and the Confederate Irish in the many forms that this would be alliance between the Native Irish Catholics, the Old English protestants and the various royalists of all religions would take on.
Micheál crafts a compelling narrative that covers the possible foreign interventions as well as the various stages of the war following the different composition of the alliance and how and why this changed over time as well as detailed information on the internal makeup of Confederate Ireland.