Abstract :
Oliver Cromwell remains a deeply controversial figure in Ireland. In the past decade, his role
in the conquest has received sustained attention. However, in recent scholarship on the settlement of Ireland in
the 1650s, he has enjoyed a peculiarly low profile. This trend has served to compound the interpretative
problems relating to Cromwell and Ireland which stem in part from the traditional denominational divide in
Irish historiography. This article offers a reappraisal of Cromwell’s role in designing and implementing the
far-reaching ‘Cromwellian ’ land settlement. It examines the evidence relating to his dealings with Irish
people, both Protestant and Catholic, and his attitude towards the enormous difficulties which they faced
post-conquest. While the massacre at Drogheda in 1649 remains a blot on his reputation, in the 1650s
Cromwell in fact emerged as an important and effective ally for Irish landowners seeking to defeat the
punitive confiscation and transplantation policies approved by the Westminster parliament and favoured by
the Dublin government
