Jul 2012
Once upon a time
in a nasty little war
Cromwell came to Ireland
like a blight upon our shore.
He waged war upon my people
in a genocidal style
but some revisionists might argue
he was merciful and mild.
At Drogheda he killed thousands,
what a slaughter that place saw,
at the hands of "Christian" soldiers-
surely righteous was their cause.
Then, when the war was over
and all our blood was spent
the Gaels, who used to own the land,
all wound up paying rent
" To Hell or Connacht" is a phrase
sound biters did invent
I don't know if he uttered it
but its surely what he meant!
in a nasty little war
Cromwell came to Ireland
like a blight upon our shore.
He waged war upon my people
in a genocidal style
but some revisionists might argue
he was merciful and mild.
At Drogheda he killed thousands,
what a slaughter that place saw,
at the hands of "Christian" soldiers-
surely righteous was their cause.
Then, when the war was over
and all our blood was spent
the Gaels, who used to own the land,
all wound up paying rent
" To Hell or Connacht" is a phrase
sound biters did invent
I don't know if he uttered it
but its surely what he meant!
While this is literally a poem about Oliver Cromwell and the war of 1649-1650 against the Irish, it was written as part of an argument about what politicians say versus what they mean. Apologists can make excuses for their words but ultimately not for their deeds. Did Oliver Cromwell ever say " to Hell or Connacht". The answer is lost to history, but that was the net effect of his actions.
