Oliver Cromwell is the great bogeyman of Irish history. His name appears everywhere in the collective psyche of an island that is obsessed with its past. He is a towering figure, a dark silhouette against the bloodstained backdrop of history. But why did he come to Ireland, and does he deserve this black reputation?

Leading young historian Micheál Ó Siochrú will present the series, offering fascinating and controversial new insights into this crucial time in Irish history. He puts the conquest in its proper context, showing that it was the apex of many years of conflict between Britain and Ireland. He looks at the war itself, exploring its causes and course, Cromwell’s struggles with his Irish adversaries, and the bitter legacy that still haunts the nation’s folk memory, three and a half centuries on. But even this is not the full story. Strikingly, Micheál reveals how ‘God’s Englishman’ helped to lay the foundations for the modern Ireland that we know today.

In the first part of this two part series, the historical context of 17th century Ireland is set and the main players in the conflict are introduced, including Cromwell himself and his Irish adversaries, the O’Neills. We trace the events that led to the first and most infamous of the atrocities of his campaign at Drogheda and Wexford. Following Drogheda, he sends 5,000 men to Ulster to crush Royalist resistance there. With the death of Owen Roe O’Neill, leader of the Ulster Catholic army, who now can stand against Cromwell?