1649 Cromwell comes to Ireland
Oliver Cromwell, Lord Lieutenant and Commander of the English Army in Ireland stepped ashore from the ship John at Ringsend in Dublin on 15 August 1649. His mission was to re-take Ireland and re-establish English rule, to suppress all royalist support and avenge the massacres of Protestant settlers in the 1641 Rebellion.
Cromwell's campaign started in Drogheda, County Louth on the 10 September 1649. He called on the town's Royal Commander, Sir John Aston, to surrender which was refused. The town fell under heavy bombardment from the English artillery. English troops entered the town, under orders from Cromwell himself, killing all in their sight, especially Catholic priests. Some 3,500 men. women and children were killed in the two days of plunder and murder. This massacre signalled Cromwell's intent that other towns would face the same fate if they resisted his forces. As a result, the nearby towns in the north-west of Ireland such as Trim and Newry were evacuated while Carlingford and Dundalk surrendered.
Cromwell then marched to the south-east of the country. He arrived with his army in Wexford Town on 1 October 1649. After unsuccessfully calling for the surrender of Wexford's Commander Sinnott and his 3000 men, the Siege of Wexford began on 11 October. Over 1,500 soldiers and civilians were slaughtered by the English troops in the ensuing battle. A small garrison of English soldiers were left in Wexford town while Cromwell turned his attention to the neighbouring Wexford town of New Ross. After a gallant defence, New Ross was evacuated.
Cromwell spent Christmas 1649 in Youghal, County Cork resting with his troops. Henry Ireton, Cromwell's son-in-law, was appointed Cromwell's Deputy in December.
In Spring 1650, Cromwell turned his attention to Kilkenny, which had been the seat of the Irish Confederates and Irish Parliament in 1641-1642. Kilkenny fell in March 1650. The County Tipperary towns of Fethard, Clonmel and Cashel also succumbed to the might of the English Commonwealth Army.
By May 1650, Ireland had been successfully placed under English rule once again. On the 26 May 1650 Oliver Cromwell left Ireland on board the frigate President Bradshaw. His harsh campaign is still indelibly imprinted in Irish memory but he received a hero's welcome on his return to England.
Ireton then took control of the Irish campaign, defeating renewed resistance in Ulster in June 1650. Waterford City surrendered to the English forces on 10 August 1850. Limerick City was besieged in June 1650, surrendering on 27 October 1650. Finally, Galway, the last remaining town in Irish control, was offered identical terms for surrender as those offered in Limerick on 7 November 1650. The re-conquest of Ireland was complete.
