By Sean Collins
In my collection I have thirty five books on the theme of Oliver Cromwell and his times. I recently acquired a new book on Oliver Cromwell, now I have thirty six.
The new book highlights on the front cover that is not ” A real History Book”. It was written by Tomas O’Raghallaigh, whom I have never heard of. Perhaps he is one of the O’Raghallaigh’s from the North Road.
I could not claim to have read my Cromwellian collection of books cover to cover, but I have read O’Raghaillagh’s book and I really enjoyed it. Despite the claim on the cover, it really is a history book.
It tells the story of one man’s endeavour to right a wrong as he perceives it. Oliver Cromwell is not at any stage exonerated for his activities in Ireland, but O’Raghallaigh believes innocent town citizens were not slaughtered randomly under Cromwell’s orders in the aftermath of the siege Drogheda in September 1649.
In this book O’Raghallaigh succinctly and meticulously explains his viewpoint and recounts it in a very light hearted way.
On my first reading I wondered if O’Raghallaigh had ever heard of Tom Reilly the local long distance runner [ the loneliness of…] who has been rambling on about this Cromwellian stuff for years in between running marathons. Then Ogy pointed out, that the two, O’Raghaillaigh and Reilly are one and the same. So O’Raghallaigh is not from the North Road, he is of course a Ma Parker.
I wasn’t fortunate enough to have had the gifted Gaelgeoir, Johnny Gregory RIP as a teacher, so my teanga gaeil is pretty poor. It is easy to make such a mistake, think of all the tourists that come to Drogheda to see Oliver Cromwell’s head in St. Peter’s.
Sorry for rambling there, let us return to Oliver Crumble as Joyce called him and Mo Farrar, I mean Tom Reilly.
I am critical on one historical point in this fine tome – Cromwell’s crack unit of demolitionists, who went around Ireland blowing the tops of 8th century monastic round towers are never mentioned. Not once!
Anywhere you travel in Ireland and visit a round tower, even at Monasterboice, the roof is missing. The tour guide will invariably advise that the Cromwellians did it. They practised on the Magdalene Tower, and then headed off on an all-Ireland crusade, to eradicate the scourge of round tower roofs in Ireland. This malicious lie needs to be corrected, future authors take note.
Tom Reilly mentions in his new book on numerous occasions that he has now written four books on Cromwell including a novel, now his fifth endeavour leads me to call for a sixth book on Cromwell by him.
In this book it is pointed out there are now upwards of 4,000 books written about Oliver Cromwell. There is still no book which recounts in detail what happened in Drogheda from the beginning of the siege until the end.
I wish for a book written by a local who understands our town, who has walked our streets, and can explain it in a way only a true Drogheda head could. All publications in the past have been smothered in a fog of slaughtered innocents, I am surprised they have not blamed the Black and Tans.
Tom’s new publication which I heartily recommend, indicates that he is the man to do it. So come on Tom get your pen out. Young people growing up in Drogheda as well as visitors need such a book. The Town itself deserves such a book. Let Drogheda and Cromwell be no longer weaponised to the detriment of our citizens by the so called republican agenda.
I leave the last word to that most eminent of historians Ruth Dudley Edwards who said, “Reilly’s elaborate documentation and careful analysis destroys the distortions and inventions produced later to suit the agendas of royalists and later nationalists……
Although professional historians are prone to be sniffy about amateurs, I have always believed they should be given a special accolade for being in love with their subject for its own sake…..he is scrupulous in his examination of evidence…….he is assiduous in research and he quotes primary resources extensively”. I was glad when I read this book Tom, I told you to go for it almost thirty years ago.
“Making a Massacre” by Tomas O Raghallaigh will be available to pre-order through at www.collectiveinkbooks.com or on Amazon.
This is O Raghallaigh’s/O’Reilly’s introduction from the sleeve of the book:
IF HISTORY WERE MUSIC, then the genre of this
book would be punk. This is an accurate (and sideways)
account of one man’s lone battle to overtutn a miscarriage
of historical justice, Two fingers to mainstream academia
this is righting a wrong….
