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10 Oct 06 - 07:10 PM (#1855349) Subject: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST There seems to be a lot of interest in Oliver Cromwell in another thread here. So was the man a hero or villain ? |
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10 Oct 06 - 07:15 PM (#1855357) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Rapparee Like everyone else, a little bit of both. |
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10 Oct 06 - 08:14 PM (#1855395) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Bert More like a lot of both. |
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10 Oct 06 - 08:55 PM (#1855434) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul from Hull *G* |
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10 Oct 06 - 09:29 PM (#1855466) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Nickhere In Ireland, as you know, he is remembered as being a sectarian genocidal maniac on a rampage. Unfortunately we had no CNN those days to broadcast our plight around the world and put a stop to him in his tracks. When I was young, old people might talk of where he had hanged so-and-so, as if it had happened yesterday. I was watching a documentary on him on BBc ages back, and saw how he might be perceived as a hero among his own people, liberating them from the yoke of corrupt monarchy and establishing England's first republic of sorts (making him an odd icon for Northern loyalists, when you think about it). Then of course he began to cut down the maypoles, ban laughing and insist everyone dress in black.... pretty soon the English got tired of him as well. It struck me that he was a man who genuinely seemed to believe he had a mission. He seemed to have no doubt that what he was doing was absolutely the right thing. |
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10 Oct 06 - 09:49 PM (#1855480) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Rapparee Sort of like George Bush and Tony Blair, huh? |
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11 Oct 06 - 03:29 AM (#1855572) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: John O'L ...with a bit of bin Laden thrown in? |
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11 Oct 06 - 03:30 AM (#1855574) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST Pasted from Amazon. Might be of interest. Cromwell An Honourable Enemy by Tom Reilly Synopsis This re-examination of the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland argues that the viewpoint of Cromwell as a genocidal maniac and religious fanatic lacks solid evidence. Placing his conquest within the rules of war at the time, it concludes he was the first successful military conqueror of Ireland. From the Author This book is ahead of its time As author of this book, I feel that many historians in Ireland are not ready yet for 'an honourable' Cromwell - nor indeed are the people of Ireland. I thought that I would change the history books and public opinion about this much maligned historical figure by publishing the truth about Cromwell's Irish campaign. The reaction - among the under forties on the whole - was good, but among historians and the over forties it was bad. They can't seem to accept that an amateur could discover such a fundamental flaw in Irish history ie that neither Cromwell or his men ever engaged in the killing of any unarmed civilians throughout his entire nine month campaign. The facts are there for all to see. But God bless Ireland the past is still the present here and we MUST have our English hate figures - despite the truth. How sad is that? Tom Reilly Author - Cromwell An Honourable Enemy |
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11 Oct 06 - 04:15 AM (#1855588) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle Hm ....sounds a bit like the historian who could prove the inhabitatnts of Belsen had a reasonable enough diet. He didn't get a reputation like that for a few lapses in table manners. |
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11 Oct 06 - 04:18 AM (#1855589) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Bruce from Bathurst The husband of the Governor of New South Wales is Sir Nicholas Shehadie, a former front row forward who played rugby union for Australia for over ten years back in the 1940s and 50s. A few years ago Mary Robinson, who was President of Ireland at the time, was on a State visit to Australia and was introduced to Sir Nick. She told him that although the Irish are a warm and forgiving people, there are two individuals who would not be welcomed back to Eire. One was Oliver Cromwell, still not forgiven for his activities in Ireland 450 years ago. The other was Nick Shehadie, still not forgiven for knocking out one of the star Irish players in a match in Dublin 50 years ago. He said she was smiling when she told him, so it must be true! Bruce |
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11 Oct 06 - 06:38 AM (#1855658) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,Janine You have to judge O.C. as a man of his time. Although his military conquest of Ireland was hardly within what we would regards in the 20th/21st centuries as military acceptable (was the bombing of Dresden?), it was certainly well within the standards of his time. That's no excuse but he was certainly no Bush/Blaire. Janine |
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11 Oct 06 - 06:52 AM (#1855662) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: McGrath of Harlow "The standards of his time..." So lets have no more silliness about witch trials or judicial torture or the slave trade or torture executions or religious persecution or historical anti-semitism or genital mutilation of women and so forth. All well within the standards of the relevant time and/or place. |
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11 Oct 06 - 07:19 AM (#1855678) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,Cats I have musket ball holes in my bedroom wall and cannon balls in my garden because of him...Our house came under fire in the English Civil War on the retreat from the Seige of Lostwithiel, 1644. |
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11 Oct 06 - 11:57 AM (#1855894) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: robomatic Loved The Movie |
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11 Oct 06 - 12:07 PM (#1855903) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Cromwell transported thousands of Irish to the West Indies as slaves, the man was ahead of his time in most things particularly genocide, and despite trying he never quite succeeded, the English in the 1840s did a much better job. |
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11 Oct 06 - 12:25 PM (#1855919) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Les from Hull 'sectarian genocidal maniac on a rampage' The actions of Cromwell, though reprehensible by modern standards, were fairly benign for that day and age. They were in response to the Irish Uprising of 1641 which does not get nearly as much publicity as, say, the Siege of Drogheda. The actions of the English Army in Ireland were fuelled to some extent by unscrupulous pamphleteers who claimed 100,000 protestants killed by the catholics (modern estimate 12,000). You have to understand how siege warfare worked in those days. The besiegers would batter at the walls with their cannon until they had a 'practicable breach' - a hole in the walls that they could attack through. They would then call upon the defenders to surrender. If they refused to surrender and the attackers had to storm the breach it was understood that the town would be sacked, and the defenders massacred. There are many examples in history, not least in the European 'Wars of Religion'. It was also normal for landowners who rebelled against the 'government' to have their lands confiscated and handed over to soldiers who had fought on the 'government' side. So sectarian? - yes (hated Catholics but he did allow the Jews back in), genocidal? - certainly not, maniac? - no evidence but plenty of evidence to the contrary, on a rampage? - reportedly lost his temper once at Drogheda. I would urge anyone who is presenting a view of historical events or characters to make some effort to read and understand the historical context before committing their thoughts to the public. |
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11 Oct 06 - 01:24 PM (#1855971) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST Les, the Lord said we must be humble, and oh, if we are in the company of you we shall be humble. ... |
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11 Oct 06 - 01:31 PM (#1855979) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul from Hull Was that a dig at our Les, Guest? |
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11 Oct 06 - 04:16 PM (#1856156) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Les from Hull It's fine for people to post their opinions. I'll always be interested in reading people's opinions. But unless they are backed by some sort of evidence they can only be opinions. My opinion of Cromwell. Not the sort of bloke that I would care to sit and chat with socially - and I'm sure that he wouldn't be short of opinions himself! But his reputation has suffered from people who assume that every action taken in those years was his own and only his. People assume that he was a despotic dictator in the style of say, Stalin. I don't think that historical eveidence bears this out. There are plenty of things to hate about the Commonwealth. The failure to set up a form of government that was acceptable to the English people, and that would survive the overthrow of the Monarchy. The treatment handed out to the Levellers. And of course I deplore the sending into slavery of thousands of Irish during Cromwell's 'rule'. But that's just my opinion. |
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11 Oct 06 - 04:33 PM (#1856169) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle Yeh you're right Les, we've all had that sort of week......forgive and forget, eh? |
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11 Oct 06 - 04:58 PM (#1856188) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: McGrath of Harlow Well, he wasn't the same as Stalin, and Stalin wasn't the same as him. History never repeats itself. I gather in Russia there are a lot of people who think Stalin was quite a good chap, and no doubt in time there'll be more. Out in Mongolia Ghengis Khan is a national hero, and they've just renamed their main airport after him. I suspect Saddam will have his fans in time. That's how it goes, as history rubs off the rough edges. In London there's the Cromwell Road, and a statue outside Parliament. The old man isn't doing too badly, considering. Just don't anyone try putting up a statue to him in Ireland. And it'd be better is he doesn't get put up as a kind of role model. Anyone using him as a role model is likely to turn out a lot worse than he did. Which gets us back to Stalin. Here is an extract from an interview he gave in 1934 to HG Wells: Stalin: 'The Communists base themselves on rich historical experience which teaches that obsolete classes do not voluntarily abandon the stage of history. Recall the history of England in the seventeenth century. Did not many say that the old social system had decayed? But did it not, nevertheless, require a Cromwell to crush it by force?' HG WELLS: 'Cromwell operated on the basis of the constitution and in the name of constitutional order...' STALIN: 'In the name of the constitution he resorted to violence, beheaded the king, dispersed Parliament, arrested some and beheaded others!' |
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11 Oct 06 - 05:06 PM (#1856193) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney Les, you are entitled to have an opinion on this or any subject as much as the next man. I enjoy reading yours. There is also a Cromwell Road in Belfast. |
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11 Oct 06 - 05:37 PM (#1856213) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Les from Hull Yeah - even Stalin's at it. No one refers to 'Parliament', 'The Army', 'The Committee of Safety', 'The Major-Generals' or any other officers of state. Or Ireton. Or Fairfax... Cromwell had to be convinced that the execution of the King was necessary. He was at first for giving him his throne back with reduced powers. Stalin assumes that he was judge, jury and executioner! Mind you one of those beheaded was Sir John Hotham, former Governor of Hull who tried to betray the town back to the King. And there's a road in Hull named for him too, Divis! |
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11 Oct 06 - 05:40 PM (#1856221) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: McGrath of Harlow Cromwell wasn't alone. Nor was Stalin. Mind in both cases you'd be pushing your luck to try to stop him doing what he thought was necessary to consolidate his power. |
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11 Oct 06 - 05:45 PM (#1856225) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Les from Hull And there are a surprising number of people who think that Napoleon Bonaparte was a good bloke! |
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11 Oct 06 - 05:54 PM (#1856233) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney The noted men of history will always be someones hero or villain. |
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11 Oct 06 - 06:29 PM (#1856259) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: John O'L Humanity has always been humanity. We know this from the authors. Humans have always known what was wrong from what was right, and have always been aware of all the different hues in between. Military savagery is not OK just because everybody else has been doing it for centuries. Is that the best you hope for? Be careful, history is still going on, and not a lot has changed. It might end up being what you get. |
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11 Oct 06 - 07:39 PM (#1856318) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Nickhere Les - I was saying how Cromwell is remembered in Ireland, not planning to write an academic treatise on same (it was pushing on for midnight). Revisionist historians may be kinder to Cromwell than memory (they wouldn't 'earn' as much academic kudos anyway if they just wrote the same old stuff about him) but apparently to people who were alive at the time and who handed down their memories he stood out as something exceptionally cruel and savage. And remember, this must have been judged against the standards of the time,since his victims and their relatives did not have the benefit of 21st cent hindsight. I know about the rebellion of 1641, the last ditch effort of Irish catholics, Gaels and Old English (the Anglo-Norman catholic settlers) to drive out the invading English. It should be added that the Irish had supported Charles 1st in the Civil War, seeeing him as their best hope. A bad mistake as it turned out, since Charles was beheaded and Cromwell then turned his attention to Ireland to 'teach it a lesson' and ensure ther'd be no more support for a monarch (Charles' son was still about). Almost 50 years later at the Boyne, the Irish were again taking sides in an English civil war in the hope of getting a better deal for themslves. Again they backed a losing horse (James) and paid dearly for it. You could say they'd have been better off minding their own business, but the two countries were so close that their foreign policies became entertwined. I'm still right about Crowmell being dour, though, aren't I? I gather he wasn't too popular in England either which is why his body was dug up and his head stuck on a spike after the Restoration. By the way, if we argue about 'the standards and rules of the time' - there was no such crime as genocide officially until the Nuremberg trials. The statute of the crime had to be invented (though the fact was real) especially in time for the trials. Nor was genocide unknown prior to that: most of the colonists engaged in a good bit of it: the French, the Belgians, the English, Spanish, anyone who could.... Won't bore you with endless examples though, have a look at this rather interesting site: Concentration camps and colonialism |
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11 Oct 06 - 08:09 PM (#1856342) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: McGrath of Harlow At all times there have been some people who did not share the "standards of the day", just as there are today for the atrocities which are shrugged off and routinely accepted. Sometimes they openly resisted, sometimes they did so covertly, more often they did their best to get by without lending their support to the commonplace atrocities, but giving a kind of silent witness. There is a danger that if we go too far down accepting the crimes of history as inevitable, and exonerating those responsible, we are showing a failure of respect for the people who did not consent. |
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11 Oct 06 - 08:43 PM (#1856372) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle In the village of Fishtoft in Lincolnshire, where I grew up - there used to be a local man who had elected himself The Lord Protector of Fishtoft, and he rode around all day on a horse with a sword. Such things went unremarked in those days. But you're quite right; he wasn't a good role model. |
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12 Oct 06 - 06:09 AM (#1856599) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,Dazbo Nickhere said "but apparently to people who were alive at the time and who handed down their memories he stood out as something exceptionally cruel and savage" which sounds like accepting their contemporaries saying that the Catholics massacred 100,000 protestants(which I infer is a figure you'd dispute?) If its your mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter that was killed (whether as a 'normal' act of war or not) must feel cruel and savage. Does the death of a close relative seem more or less cruel and savage if it's an isolated incident or part of genocide? |
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12 Oct 06 - 06:35 AM (#1856607) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Thanks Nickhere for that Site on Cocentration camps and Colonialism, I had a look through the England and Ireland pages, truly a horror story. |
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12 Oct 06 - 07:01 AM (#1856620) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney Thanks Nickhere, for that link. |
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12 Oct 06 - 08:08 AM (#1856672) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle lets face it history can be written a dozen different ways. the history of recent times, I think would be written differently by different people on this thread. however on the subject of Oliver Cromwell, there does seem to be a fair amount of consensus that he was a complete bastard. Perhaps not complete - nobody's perfect. But a piece of shit, rather than a rough diamond. |
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12 Oct 06 - 11:09 AM (#1856865) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,Penguin Egg I think the concensus is unfair. My understanding of Cromwell is that he was a compassionate general. He kept strict discipline within his army and no Irishman not in arms had no reason to fear his army. A soldier that stole some eggs in Ireland was immediately hanged. A bit rough, maybe, but this is the 17th Century, don't forget. Guest quoted "Cromwell An Honourable Enemy" by Tom Reilly which really does paint a generous picture of Cromwell, detailing how the crimes Cromwell was supposed to have committed could not have really happened. Cromwell's time in Ireland, although not a happy time for the Irish, was not one of tyranny. It is worth remembering that Cromwell was sent by Parliament to defend the Republic against Royalist forces. Antonia Fraser's biography of Cromwell, which is highly readable and highly detailed, offers the same opinion. It also shows that even though he was a devout Puritan, he had a lively sense of humour and was liked by those who knew him. He was neither a piece of shit nor a rough diamond. Rather, he was a man of his time who was brave enough to tackle the issues that he faced head on, and conquer them. He was a man of enormous integrity, as well. The trouble with Cromwell is that he is judged by the standards of our time instead of his. 17th Century England is a foreign country to us. Over 300 years have gone since his death and people still cannot judge him objectively. He gets distorted through the lenses of Irish nationalist propagander, modern day royalist symphisers, and democrats. |
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12 Oct 06 - 11:22 AM (#1856881) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Bunnahabhain Concensus? On mudcat? Quick shoot it, it's a dangerous animal! |
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12 Oct 06 - 12:01 PM (#1856945) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle Penguin, how do you know no Irishman had anything to fear from him. You weren't there. that wasn't the impression that he left. there has to be a reason for that. Antonia Fraser's dad thought Myra Hindley was a bit of a doll. that family don't have a good reputation for character judgement. |
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12 Oct 06 - 12:35 PM (#1856987) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Mick Dress it up all you want, but the fact of the matter is that the events at Drogheda (anybody else pay attention to the fact that this attack occurred on 9/11 1649) and Wexford included the massacre of large numbers of civilians. We know that Cromwell initial orders indicated that excessive violence was to be avoided then he did nothing to stop that same violence. We know that he and his troops burned St. Mary's church with all the civilians inside. All attempts to revise the history must end with the deaths of all these civilians. Even under the standards of 17th century warfare, this was a brutal campaign intended to set an example. Cromwell even alluded to this later, and suggested that it was Providence that this occurred. To those that want to make the claim that this was retribution for the 1641 uprising should recognize the fundamental difference in the two events. One is the act of an oppressed people whose ancestral lands had been stolen, and whose rights had been taken away. The other was the act of an oppressor to subjugate through any means possible the citizenry of a country against its will. He was indiscriminate as to who was slaughtered. They need only be Irish and Catholic. |
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12 Oct 06 - 02:02 PM (#1857054) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha There were plenty more to follow on from Cromwell, the most despicable quote of all time regarding an opressed people was the London Times comment, "soon an Irishman will be as uncommon as a a red Indian on the banks of the Hudson". I can imagine those germs of the earth having a good belly laugh at the thought of the disappearing Irish. |
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12 Oct 06 - 02:03 PM (#1857055) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha This comment of course was regarding the potato famine. |
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12 Oct 06 - 02:40 PM (#1857086) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: The Walrus Big Mick, I'm no fan of Cromwell, but "...Dress it up all you want, but the fact of the matter is that the events at Drogheda (anybody else pay attention to the fact that this attack occurred on 9/11 1649) and Wexford included the massacre of large numbers of civilians. We know that Cromwell initial orders indicated that excessive violence was to be avoided then he did nothing to stop that same violence...." As Les from Hull pointed out, if a town had to be taken by storm, then, under the rules of war at that period, the town belonged to the soldiers (not the Army) for a time, it was 'given over to sack', effectively all the rules of civilised behaviour went out of the window, this was partially because the men who'd had to storm the town were high on adrenaline and it's doubtful if they could have been controlled; Partly because those same men had seen their friends being killed all around them in the assault and were in no state of mind to be friendly to those who'd been trying to kill them (remembering that the defence was not left only to the military); Partly because it's odds on that the assaulting army hadn't been paid for some time and a stormed town gave opportunities for loot and because the sacking of a town was an horriffic affair and served as a lesson to other such towns which were likely to be beseiged and may cause them to surrender before being stormed (thus saving life - and time - for the besieging forces and saving the town from sacking). By today's standards this was barbaric but then was fairly standard practice - check the Thirty Years War. I honestly believe that Cromwell couldn't have stopped the massacres even if it had been his dearest wish. W |
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12 Oct 06 - 04:37 PM (#1857165) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Uncle_DaveO He and his supporters seem to have been the 17th Century Taliban. Dave Oesterreich |
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12 Oct 06 - 06:18 PM (#1857250) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Les from Hull You can get all sorts of different views on the internet, some say that 3,000 defenders were killed, some state that 30,000 inhabitants were murdered. I don't know, I wasn't there. (Cromwell's army numbered 12,000.) But I do object to the term 'revisionist' which seems to me have the idea of changing history to suit a purpose. Modern historians try to seek out evidence to give a truer picture of events. Revisionism is the stock in trade of politicians and bigots. I have suggested that people read widely on a subject before they try to give us facts. Opinions are fine, but they only are opinions. My brief is not for Cromwell but for correct (or as correct as we can get) facts. To be oppressed by Crowmell, you had to be a rebel or traitor. Now of course the Catholic Irish didn't see themselves as either - they were fighting bravely for their homeland against a cruel foreign oppressor. I'm not trying to say who was right. My ancestors in Ireland at the time were probably fighting Cromwell. Comparing the Commonwealth with the Taliban doesn't help. You could say the same about the sons of the Pilgrim Fathers in King Philip's War. |
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12 Oct 06 - 06:31 PM (#1857262) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Richard Bridge Cromwell's forces, as likewise the Royalists' forces are as far as I know thought to have committed many an atrocity in England during the early 17th century. The Romans were none too kind to Boudicca's forces either. |
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12 Oct 06 - 08:27 PM (#1857348) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Nickhere Dazbo, you said "Nickhere said "but apparently to people who were alive at the time and who handed down their memories he stood out as something exceptionally cruel and savage" which sounds like accepting their contemporaries saying that the Catholics massacred 100,000 protestants(which I infer is a figure you'd dispute?) If its your mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter that was killed (whether as a 'normal' act of war or not) must feel cruel and savage. Does the death of a close relative seem more or less cruel and savage if it's an isolated incident or part of genocide?" I'm sorry, I must be getting old, but I simply cannot follow what you are trying to say. I'll do my best to repsond (since it seems to be a question) if it can be made a bit clearer. In particular I don't understand the sentence after the quote pasted from my previous post. |
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12 Oct 06 - 09:07 PM (#1857389) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle You ain't going to get the truth. I live in Nottinghamshire which was like the centre of where all the stuff was going off in the miner's strike. There as many different accounts of that period as there are people. they all believe they're right. that was 22 years ago. You ain't going to get truth about Oliver Cromwell. 350 years ago. But its a fair bet when someone make such an impression of being obnoxious - there is more than a grain of truth in it. |
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12 Oct 06 - 10:09 PM (#1857436) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,sorefingers Didn't read all the posts because I am out of time, but must point out that inside the city of Drogheda during it's siege and eventual fall there were folks from all over Britain. Cromwell didn't exclusively nasty up the Irish, he nastied up everybody opposing him. That included in Ireland AngloIrish as well as the rest. He was not a nice person! |
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13 Oct 06 - 06:56 AM (#1857669) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Cromwell`s atrocities in Ireland paled in comparsion to what happened to the Irish in the 1840s,Charles Trevelyan the British treasury secretary and his colleagues were responsible for countless more deaths than Cromwell. |
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13 Oct 06 - 08:29 AM (#1857727) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Fiolar Just in passing I remember watching a televsion programme many years ago about one of the West Indian islands. I cannot remember the name, but what amazed me was the fact that every one of the people interviewed spoke with a pure Irish accent and even used some Irish dialect. A few of them stated that they were the descendents of the people that Cromwell had transported there. Also a good few of my colleagues at work in past years were native to the West Indies and had names like Tyrell and Burke to quote as examples. |
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13 Oct 06 - 09:59 AM (#1857815) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha That West Indian island was Montserrat. |
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13 Oct 06 - 10:20 AM (#1857829) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Den I have a friend from Saint Kitts in the Carribean and his name is Donnie McMahon. |
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13 Oct 06 - 10:52 AM (#1857853) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Les from Hull Yes Sorefingers, the people that Cromwell nastied up were called Royalists. There was a war going on. Trevelyan was also in charge during the Highland Potato Famine in Scotland. He was awarded the KCB for his efforts in Ireland and Scotland. But it's wrong to blame all this on the English. The people who were responsible were known as 'The Aristocracy' or more accurately 'The Rich'. English peasants were marginally better off because after they stole our land they needed us to work in their factories and mines for fourteen hours a day. |
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13 Oct 06 - 10:58 AM (#1857862) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Too true Les they were land-grabbing vermin. |
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13 Oct 06 - 11:07 AM (#1857875) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Mick Absolutely important distinction for Irish Americans to get, Les. Altogether too often they speak of "the English" in a monolithic way. It is much more about economics and it always has been. Might have been couched in religious terms, but this has always been about resources and money. The rape of the Irish Oak, the plundering of her resources, the indentured slavery of her people, was carried out by industrialists and landowners for personal gain and for gain for the aristocracy. The "orange card" wasn't played until the Protestant and Catholic workers realized they had more in common as workers than not. At its root, it's always about money. Mick |
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13 Oct 06 - 06:26 PM (#1858247) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,sorefingers Amen to that thought! |
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13 Oct 06 - 08:29 PM (#1858355) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: McGrath of Harlow Montserrat And here is the volcano that has disrupted and dispersed the island's community. Thread drift, but that's not always such a bad thing. |
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14 Oct 06 - 07:52 AM (#1858569) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Fiolar Ard Mhaca. Thanks for the info. |
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15 Oct 06 - 05:34 AM (#1859217) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Keith A of Hertford " The rape of the Irish Oak, the plundering of her resources, the indentured slavery of her people," Not wanting to open another can of worms here, but not sure what you are referring to Big Mick. |
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15 Oct 06 - 06:04 AM (#1859224) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney Good morning Keith In answer to the questions you asked of Mick. During the middle ages the oak woods of Ireland were used extensively to build English ships and homes. The plundering of her resources?, during the famine shiploads of food were transported to England. The countless thousands who were shipped off to the West Indies by Cromwell long before the natives of Africa were made slaves. Keith wallowing in ignorance shouldn`t exclude you from this Site, we all live and learn. |
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15 Oct 06 - 07:25 AM (#1859259) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Keith A of Hertford Asking questions is not wallowing in ignorance. It is seeking knowledge. English, Irish, Welsh and Scots oaks were indeed harvested (raped?) to build ships. Ships which were disproportionately manned by Irish volunteers. Am I plundering Ireland's resources when I buy Irish beef and butter? |
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15 Oct 06 - 08:02 AM (#1859276) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Keith no you are not plundering Irealnd`s resources, but you would have been in the 1840s,it would have been like taking the bite out of a dying childs mouth. |
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15 Oct 06 - 08:37 AM (#1859289) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney St. Kitts was once the jewel of England's possessions in the New World as its shipping hub and largest sugar producer. 25,000 Irish men and women shipped in bondage as slaves by Cromwell to St. Kitts worked on these sugar plantations long before five star meals and Pina Coladas were being served. Never before exposed to tropical heat, sun, and insects after being torn from whatever was left of their families after Cromwell's army ravaged the country, the Irish faced misery as slave labourers. English shipping of Irish slaves to the New World earlier in the 1600s has been documented in many works. In 1612 Irish people were sent to the Amazon River settlements. An English Proclamation of the year 1625 urges banishment overseas of dangerous rogues (Irish political prisoners).69% of all white people on the island were Irish. By 1650 during Cromwell's unfathomable reign of terror in Ireland the numbers of Irish sent into slavery were unlike anything previously experienced. Remember that in 1641 Ireland had a population of 1,466,000 and by 1652 the population was down to only 616,000. According to Sir William. Petty, ``850,000 were wasted by the sword, plague, famine, banishment during the Confederation War 1641-1652.'' By the end of the war estimates vary from 80,000 to 130,000 of Irish men, women and children captured for sale as slaves to labour in England's expanding empire. The English were quite proud of these accomplishments as can be noted in Prendergast, ``Thurloe's State Papers'' (published in London in 1742), ``It was a measure beneficial to Ireland, which was thus relieved of a population that might trouble the planters; it was a benefit to the people removed, who might thus be made English and Christian, a great benefit to the West Indies sugar planters, who desired men and boys for their bondsmen, and the women and Irish girls to solace them''. Under James I, Cromwell burned the Irish forests to prevent people hiding from banishment as well as clearing the countryside for pasture land to feed cattle for English beef. Over 100,000 young children who were orphans or had been taken from their Catholic parents, were sent abroad into slavery in the West Indies, Virginia, and New England. Many of the 25,000 Irish slaves on St. Kitts died from tropical heat, disease, or overwork. Sure tell you what, we will just over look this one.Good enough for the paddies, better still, maybe it didn't happen. |
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15 Oct 06 - 09:05 AM (#1859301) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Keith A of Hertford I am sure it happened Sweeney. I have to admit that I knew little of that bit of history. You seem to be angry about it nearly half a millenia later. Who are you angry with? |
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15 Oct 06 - 09:25 AM (#1859306) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Mick Keith, among the Celts the Oak was almost sacred. The Pre-Christian Druids usually performed worship ceremonies around the largest oak tree in the grove. Ireland, in antiquity, had great forests of a beautiful Oak. In fact,in County Offaly alone, there are fifty-three townlands beginning with Doire (the fourth largest) Derry, or Doire, means an oak tree grove, as indeed does Durrow which which is also in Offaly, and was the site of St. Columba's favorite monastery. Of course, there is County Derry, which was most certainly a sacred place. In fact, the word 'druid' is derived from the Irish word for Oak, dair, which means 'one who is learned from the wise old oak tree. Examples like these can be found in most of the other counties of Ireland as well. Over the centuries of occupation, these beautiful forests were cut down and sent to the contintent for shipbuilding and furniture building. One can look at the records of the Parliamentary Debates of the of the Houses of the Oireachtas in the early days to see that once the Free State, and later the Republic, was established they were very concerned with reforestation of this resource for the use of the Irish people. My understanding is that there is still a movement afoot to re-establish and maintain the Irish Oak Groves. The plundering of the resources, as noted by Divis, must be tied to the Great Hunger. While Irish peoples were starving to death, enough food was exported to feed the Irish people. In Ireland Before and After the Famine Cormac O'Grada documents that in 1845, a famine year in Ireland, 3,251,907 quarters (8 bushels = 1 quarter)) of corn were exported from Ireland to Britain. That same year 257,257 sheep were exported to Britain. In 1846, another famine year, 480,827 swine and 186,483 oxen were exported to Britain. Cecil Woodham-Smith, considered the preeminent authority on the Irish Famine, wrote in The Great Hunger; Ireland 1845-1849 that, "...no issue has provoked so much anger or so embittered relations between the two countries (England and Ireland) as the indisputable fact that huge quantities of food were exported from Ireland to England throughout the period when the people of Ireland were dying of starvation." "Although the potato crop failed, the country was still producing and exporting more than enough grain crops to feed the population. But that was a 'money crop' and not a 'food crop' and could not be interfered with." Source: http://www.nde.state.ne.us/SS/irish/irish_pf.html In my readings on the matter, I have seen numerous examples, before and during the Hunger, of Irish folks being thrown out of their homes, in order to tear down the home and use the land for graze and for cash crops. There are many pictures that document these evictions. I don't know that the term 'indentured servitude' is the right one to use to describe what happened to the Irish in their own land, but it is the kindest that I can come up with. The money ruled. The laissez-faire attitude that caused the occupiers to value the money more than the people of Ireland caused more agony, and is the root of the 'religious' strife that has haunted the land of my grandparents for centuries, and as we can see from this and other threads, still haunts this land. Personally, I think that James Connolly's "to take and hold Ireland, and the food of Ireland, for the people of Ireland" form of socialism was the factor that finally began the process that has led to this moment. When the day comes, as I believe it will, that the North of Ireland is reunited with the South of Ireland under the flag of the Republic, it will be in no small part due to this basic attitude, borne of the centuries of the abuse of the Irish people and their land. |
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15 Oct 06 - 09:40 AM (#1859315) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney No not angry Keith, just think it should be over looked in a trivial sense. It did happen. I tend to keep my anger under control despite the fact that I can relate to events I lived through over the past 30 odd years which also saw repression of the Irish. |
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15 Oct 06 - 09:48 AM (#1859321) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Keith A of Hertford I too think and hope that unification will come soon Mick. But I do not think that the day is hastened by concentating narrowly on items of history that support the view of Ireland as victim, and ignore the plight of the landless poor in all these islands who suffered in a comparable way. |
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15 Oct 06 - 09:53 AM (#1859323) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Keith A of Hertford It should not be overlooked Sweeney, but seen in context as a part of a whole tapestry of events that are our history. |
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15 Oct 06 - 09:59 AM (#1859327) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney Agreed, a very sad history. |
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15 Oct 06 - 11:50 AM (#1859384) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,sorefingers Indeed a sad history, but to be locked in that drama?, to suffer from it, and be 'angry' about it all the time? Now that does not make any sense at all. What can we achieve by reliving the worst history over and over? Nothing but more evil by our feelings towards each other. Should I shoot off a leg or an arm because my granny was English? And the fact that in Ireland the people were a mixed bag most of its history is ignored! That is a very bad thing because the very thing that brought the country to such horrid happenings is being touted as the 'end all and be all' of an Irish mind. To wit, denying the rights of those who came into it from whatever and through whatever because we want to tar and feather the English! Pulllease. First off, many of the national heros of Irish freedom in the Republic for most of recent history had Anglo or Manx or Welsh or Scottish family names. Wolf Tone, Pearse and so on. Do we deny these folks families the right to be what they are? Do we make lies and call that history? Enough! Even in todays protests it can still be seen, Adams, Sands ... I think people in Ireland should let the past rest and get on with today so that tomorrow may be a better day. Translating these British names into Gaelic and then forcing the remainder of the Irish people to hate/learn their own language - as De Valera did - by beating the poor starving children in post Colonial Ireland for not learning Gaelic fast enough? might have fooled some of the Irish, but here in the new world - Oz Canada NewZealand US - the Irish diaspora knew better and largely ignored Ireland's looney right. It is easy to forget the hatred preached by these fake Irish people during those years. Names such as Mac Unspeakable-unpronoucable whatever eg Russell, Welsh, Peabody and so on, translated into Gaelic. In 1966 one of the bearers of the Irish flag at Dev's big national celebration, 50 years, of the Irish rising, was named Early. Today a senior officer in Ireland's Army, General Early could easily be mistaken for an English Lord, and again his name does not translate well into Gaelic. So pullleasse spare us yet more shame by fighting un-winable battles for the sake of backwardsness. I think that most of the diaspora today know what this Gaelic pushing minority is all about, that is, making trouble to get attention and money, if they can, for a stupid insane cruel lost cause. Hey waken up, what's done cannot be undone, and Ireland is no worse a place than it was when Rome ruled Britania. Then Rome enslaved Britons sending them far far away, then Rome crusified its enemies including Britons and beat the living crap out of the English, or was it the Welsh?, for being stupid and thick and ignorant and backwards. I find it not at all surprising that Unionists in the North of Ireland resist the South, in fact I would be astonished if they didn't. Maybe some of what they say is true. Maybe the Church in the south is too powerful, maybe Republicanism is as daft as the the looney Norn Iron terrorists. Enough! The English people are not all of them like Oliver Cromwell and I thank G_d for the good things they have done, not only in Ireland but everywhere else. |
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15 Oct 06 - 02:13 PM (#1859507) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: McGrath of Harlow What keeps anger alive and gets in the way of moving on is when people attempt to deny or trivialise past atrocities which had enduring consequences. |
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15 Oct 06 - 02:21 PM (#1859514) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Sorefingers have you been to Ireland lately, the Church has been a non-event here for quite a number of years, no one heeds Bishops, Priests, or the Pope. Do you really believe that Paisley`s DUP will sit with Adams and co, maybe for a very short period,and it will be back to square one, a hell of a lot of people here won`t cry over that, there was little or no interest here in what took place in that Scottish meeting. |
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15 Oct 06 - 08:02 PM (#1859794) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,sorefingers ard mhacha none of these people care about Ireland, they care about the bottom line, they care about how much power/money they are getting out of it. |
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16 Oct 06 - 03:30 AM (#1860024) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,Dazbo Nickhere, I was just trying to point out that you seem to be taking it as gospel the oral history of the massacres of Irish Catholics 'because they were there at the time' but not of the Protestant massacres by people also there 'at the same time'. To my mind you can't accept the one half of the story blindly without accepting the other half in the same manner. |
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16 Oct 06 - 04:57 AM (#1860059) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST Regarding the Oak taken from Ireland to build ships, this is confirmed in the film "HMS Discovery" by Richard Barnbrook. |
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16 Oct 06 - 06:58 AM (#1860132) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST No fewer than 17 of the 43 American Presidents have had family links to Ulster, some very strong such as Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S Grant and Woodrow Wilson. ANDREW JACKSON (Democrat 1828-1836) The seventh American President was the son of Andrew and Elizabeth Jackson, who moved from Boneybefore outside Carrickfergus, Co Antrim in 1765. Andrew was born at the Waxhaws in North Carolina in March 1767, a few days after his father's death. The Jacksons, linen weavers, were of lowland Scottish Presbyterian stock who arrived in Ulster during the 17th Scottish Plantation years. Andrew Jackson, a rough hewn character, was at various periods in his life a lawyer, soldier and politician. He commanded the United States Army in the early part of the 19th century and he was the victorious general at the Battle of New Orleans in January, 1815. JAMES KNOX POLK (Democrat 1845-49) The 11th President was born in 1795 near Charlotte, North Carolina. His Scottish-born great-grandfather Robert Bruce Polk (Pollok), of Lifford, Donegal, arrived in the American colonies about 1680, settling in Maryland with descendants moving on to North Carolina. James Knox Polk was Governor of Tennessee before becoming President and he and his wife Sarah are buried in Nashville. Both were Presbyterians. Polk served seven terms in the U. S. Congress and was speaker of the House, the only President to hold this office. A great-uncle Thomas Polk signed, with other Scots-Irish citizens in North Carolina, the Mecklenburg Declaration in 1775. JAMES BUCHANAN (Democrat 1857-61) James Buchanan, the 15th American President, was born in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Franklin County, Pennsylvania in 1791, into an Ulster Presbyterian family. The Buchanan family, before emigrating to America, lived at Deroran near Omagh in Co Tyrone. His father James was of merchant stock and his mother Elizabeth was the daughter of an immigrant farmer from Ulster. James was a close associate of President Andrew Jackson and he held ministerial office under Jackson and President James Knox Polk. He was the only bachelor President. ANDREW JOHNSON (Democrat 1865-69) The 17th President was born in 1808 in Raleigh, North Carolina. His Ulster Presbyterian grandfather and namesake emigrated from Mounthill outside Larne in 1750. Johnson, who trained as a tailor, was reared on the wrong side of the tracks in a Carolina community known as "the poor Protestants", but, after he moved over the Great Smoky Mountains to East Tennessee with his mother and step-father, he rose to become Mayor of Greeneville, Governor of Tennessee and United States President in 1865 on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. ULYSSES S GRANT (Republican 1869-77) Grant, born on a farm at Mount Pleasant, Ohio in 1822, was the victorious commander of the Union Army in the American Civil War and he served two terms as United States President. His mother Hannah Simpson was descended from the Simpson family of Dergenagh near Dungannon, Co Tyrone. His great-grandfather John Simpson left Ulster for America in 1760. Grant made it to Ulster in 1878 and he was made a freeman of Londonderry. He was a West Point-trained army officer and held significant Army commissions during the Mexican Wars. CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR (Republican 1881-85) The 21st American President was born at Fairfield, Vermont in 1830. Arthur's grandfather and father, Baptist pastor the Rev William Arthur, emigrated to Durham, Quebec, Canada from Dreen near Cullybackey, Co Antrim in 1801 and the family settled in the neighbouring American state pf Vermont. Arthur, graduate of Princeton College, and a lawyer who later became a teacher, was an officer in the New York state militia during the Civil War. He was Vice-President for six months to President James S. Garfield, becoming President on Garfield's assassination in September, 1881. Although of Presbyterian/Baptist roots, he became an Episcopalian. GROVER CLEVELAND (Democrat 1885-89 and 1893-97) The 22nd and 24th President was born in 1837 in Caldwell, New Jersey. His maternal grandfather Abner Neal left Co Antrim in the late 18th century. Grover was the son of Presbyterian minister the Rev Richard Falley Cleveland, who ministered in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. His mother Ann Neal Cleveland, was the daughter of a Baltimore book publisher. Grover, a lawyer, was mayor of Buffalo, New York and Governor of New York before rising to the Presidency. He served two terms in the White House, winning the first and third elections (1884 and 1892) and losing the second (1888) to Benjamin Harrison. BENJAMIN HARRISON (Republican 1889-93) The 23rd President was born in 1833 at North Bend, Ohio. Harrison, I grandson of the ninth President William Henry Harrison, was related to Ulster immigrants James Irwin and William McDowell. His mother Elizabeth Irwin Harrison, was born and raised in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, a strong Scots-Irish settlement, and his father was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives. President Harrison was a devout Presbyterian and he chartered a career as a lawyer and brigadier-general in the Civil War. i Harrison served in the U. S. Senate for six years (1881-87). WILLIAM McKINLEY (Republican 1897-1901) Born in 1843, in Niles, Ohio, William McKinley was great grandson of James McKinley, famed for conference results, who emigrated to America from Brownlow Terrace Lurgan County Armagh about 1743. The Presbyterian McKinleys were originally from Perthshire, Scotland and they moved to Ulster in the 17th century Plantation years. McKinley's grandparents fought in the Revolutionary War and the family was involved in the Bookies. McKinley was a US Representative for 12 years and Governor of Ohio for four. He was assassinated at Buffalo, New York on September 6,1901. He married Ida Saxton in a Presbyterian church, but he was a Methodist. THEODORE ROOSEVELT (Republican 1905-09) The 26th President was born in 1858 in New York City. Roosevelt, who i wrote of the courage of the Scots-Irish on the American frontier, is claimed I to have Presbyterian ancestors on his maternal side from the Larne region of Co Antrim. East Antrim folklore links him to the Irvines of Carneac near I Larne and the Bullochs from the same area. Roosevelt was a distinguished US Cavalry officer in the Spanish-American war and New York Governor before becoming President in 1904. He described the Scots-Irish as "a stern, virile and hardy people who formed the kernel of that American stock who were the pioneers of our people in the march westwards;" WOODROW WILSON (Democrat 1913-21) Woodrow Wilson, born in a Presbyterian manse in Staunton, Virginia in 1856, was the grandson of James Wilson, who emigrated from Dergelt near Strabane to North Garolina in 1807. His father the Rev Dr Joseph Ruggles was a Presbyterian minister. Wilson, a professor at Princeton College in New Jersey, was an academic and after a spell as Governor of New Jersey, he was elected President in 1813. He led America during the First World War and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in achieving world peace. He visited Ireland when he was at Princeton. HARRY TRUMAN (Democrat 1949-53) The 33rd President was born in 1884 at Lamar, Missouri. His maternal grandfather Solomon Young was of Scots-Irish settler stock and moved from Kentucky to Kansas City, Missouri in 1840. Presbyterian Truman, who also had English and German ancestry, was a popular straight-talking American President after the Second World War. He had been a United States Senator for 10 years from 1935. He was a Baptist, but attended the Presbyterian Church as a youth. RICHARD MILLHOUSE NIXON (Republican 1969-74) The President was born in 1913 at Yorba Linda, California and had Ulster connections on two sides of his family. His Nixon Presbyterian ancestry left Co Antrim for America around 1753, while the Millhouses came from Carrickfergus and Ballymoney. Richard Nixon, himself was a Quaker and his wife Thelma Catherine 'Pat' Ryan had Irish Roman Catholic family connections. Nixon, a lawyer and controversial President, served as Vice-President during the two Presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower. JAMES EARL CARTER (Democrat 1977-1981) The 39th President was born in 1924 in Plains, Georgia. Scots-Irish settler Andrew Cowan, believed to come from Co Antrim, was the great grandfather of President Carter's great grandmother on his mother's side. Cowan, a Presbyterian, was in 1772 one of the first residents of Boonesborough, a frontier buffer zone in the South Carolina Piedmont region. Jimmy Carter, who also had English ancestry, is a Baptist, and since ending his Presidential term he has been noted for his sterling humanitarian work. GEORGE HERBERT BUSH (Republican 1989-93) The 41st President was born in 1924 at Milton, Massachusetts. The Bush family came mainly of English stock, but an ancestor on George Bush's maternal side was William Gault, who was born in Ulster (very probably Co Antrim) and, with his wife Margaret, were first settlers of Tennessee, living in Blount County in 1796, the year Tennessee became a state. The Gaults were identified by the Bush family as being first families of Tennessee in the research carried out by the East Tennessee Historical Society. George H Bush is an Episcopolian. WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON (Democrat 1993-2001) The 42nd President was born in 1946 in Hope, Hempstead County, Arkansas. Bill Clinton claims to be a relative of Lucas Cassidy, who left Co Fermanagh for America around 1750. During his eight-year period as President, Bill Clinton made three visits to Northern Ireland and actively involved himself in the peace process. Bill Clinton is a Baptist. GEORGE WALKER BUSH (Republican 2001) Born in 1946 in Texas, President Bush, son of President George Herbert Bush, is descended on his father's maternal side from the late 18th century East Tennessee settler William Gault, who was bom in Ulster. George W Bush is a Methodist and he has visited Northern Ireland once. |
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16 Oct 06 - 08:41 AM (#1860204) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle I just checked on the net. Apparently there are only 3,238 diocesan priests in Ireland. Ard's quite right. Its not that many. Particularly if no ones paying any attention, like he says. |
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16 Oct 06 - 10:38 AM (#1860334) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST if no one's paying attention how do they know? |
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16 Oct 06 - 12:11 PM (#1860418) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha They know by the low attendance figures at Mass, it has reached the stage were vocations to the priesthood are at their lowest ebb, also Convents are pratically devoid of young nuns, it is not rocket science, living here you see for yourself. So it wouldn`t do any harm to enquire before you comment on priest-ridden Ireland. |
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16 Oct 06 - 12:17 PM (#1860427) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST So is there is also a decline in the requirement of little boys with big ears ? |
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16 Oct 06 - 02:56 PM (#1860587) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle We've had the argument long before, and you got very het up and abusive about it. But if I, and this sorefingered gent are mistaken - its an understandable mistake. I understand your patriotism - but I don't see any need to be so short tempered. As you drive through Ireland the churches aren't like they are in England - down at heel, deserted, converted into yuppie dwellings, or at best begging for refurbishment money. they look sleek and well maintained. Furthermore Priests are in your society in all sorts of roles that they aren't most places. I went for a songwriting competition in County Galway and there was a priest on the jury. What do priests know about songwriting? They are there on the juries for beauty competitions - what do they know about women? And what of the teaching brothers who beat my cousins black and blue in the 1960's - are they still in business? I don't know why you are so sensitive about, if we are completely wrong, what is a fairly harmless mistake. If I am wrong, I stand corrected and I apologise. I wondered if maybe you have a relation in the clergy. My sister is sensitive about lawyer jokes cos her daughter is a solicitor. |
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16 Oct 06 - 03:17 PM (#1860603) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney I went to mass in my youth because I was chased out on a Sunday morning, if I hadn't of went I would have lost my bed ! In 1982 there was a statement read out in every chapel issued by the bishop that anyone who supported the Republican movement had no place in their church. I walked out that day and never returned, except for funeral masses for my mother and father. They both were faithful catholics, and neither shared my politics. The church has a big problem in the north, young people these days won't sit and listen to someone preaching at that. Their weekend social life does not include the church. Most churchgoers I see in my town are of the older generation. In the republic, there are small towns that have a great respect for their priests. For example on Achill Island in Mayo I was in a shop and the priest came in and it was like a state visit. I am not here to knock the church, each to their own, it was them that chased me. |
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17 Oct 06 - 02:54 AM (#1861040) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle Yeh I think there must have been an international ecumenical cross faith decision round about that time to chase the young people out. I'm not sure it was a purely political thing DS. It was like all the churches looked at society in the 1960's and said - No thankyou! We're not getting involved in any of that. Whereas, we were the citizens of the world coming into our own time, and we didn't really have any choice - except to engage with the world as it was. |
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17 Oct 06 - 03:36 AM (#1861047) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Teribus Cromwell treated what was perceived by the "Parliamentary Cause" as the enemy no differently in England, Scotland or Ireland. The rather lop-sided belief that the history of the British Isles is coloured by "big-bad" England versus "poor-heroic-victimised" Scotland/Ireland/Wales stems from the fault that it is taken and looked at in isolation. To fully understand the history of the British Isles you must also look at, and study, the history of the two super-powers for much of the time, France and Spain. No mention of Sir Thomas Wentworth, whose mission to Ireland (1639) at the behest of King Charles to sound out the raising of an Irish Army (predominantly Catholic) under the command of the Duke of Ormond (Protestant) to invade England and impose the King's will on the population. The Irish were not the only prisoners sent to the Commonwealth as slaves, the same happened to Scots and to English prisoners. |
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17 Oct 06 - 03:56 AM (#1861059) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: John O'L Ah, Teribus. Good day to you sir. I was concerned about your absence. Glad you could show up. Better late than never. Poor old Cromwell again. How he has suffered at the hands of these wretched historians and Irish. |
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17 Oct 06 - 04:05 AM (#1861066) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST Do they still have the huge statues of the BVM oustide every school? |
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17 Oct 06 - 05:53 AM (#1861120) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle BVM? |
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17 Oct 06 - 06:00 AM (#1861124) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha It seems like Guest has just awoken from a long Rip van Winkle sleep. |
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17 Oct 06 - 07:03 AM (#1861147) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle I think Cromwell must have been one of these Margaret Thatcher types - full of moral certainty. Not having any doubts about destroying things which had no place in their scale of values. |
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17 Oct 06 - 10:20 AM (#1861269) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul from Hull Thats an interesting & astute assessment of Thatcher (& Cromwell) WLD. I think it maybe applies to some of the Guests on this & the Mau-Mau thread too. |
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17 Oct 06 - 04:41 PM (#1861544) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Nickhere "They know by the low attendance figures at Mass, it has reached the stage were vocations to the priesthood are at their lowest ebb, also Convents are pratically devoid of young nuns, it is not rocket science, living here you see for yourself. So it wouldn`t do any harm to enquire before you comment on priest-ridden Ireland" I agree. Ireland is not 'priest-ridden' indeed. I'd like to add some observations: The media pundits have long been gleefully prophesying / describing the decline in Catholic Ireland and not always in the role of disinterested observers. Immigration, they opined, would change Catholic Ireland forever and make it into something far more palatable (to them). Well here's the funny thing: some traditional expressions of catholicism HAVE died off, people no longer really go to Sunday mass out of sheer habit or because the neighbours do (very few, anyway). The numbers of Irish in churches has fallen, but at least those who are there sincerely want to be, and you get a bit less of the rent-a-crowd who arrive at the back of the church to chat about 'the match' while the rest of us are trying to listen to the mass, then head off out the door before the communion, like guests who bizarrely leave your house just after you've laid up the table! As for immigration, stick your head into any of the churches near the bigger towns and you'll find them full of...Polish, Czech etc., Maybe the pundits will be proved wrong - maybe immigration will revitalise the church here. The Church in Ireland had to change - the dead wood cleared out. It suffered from the failing of all big institutions: sooner or later they develop an 'us and them' mentality. We've seen that recently also with the Gardai (e.g Donegal) to mention but one example. But the church is far more than just the clergy - as the media pundits often forget - it is also the laity. I don't approve of the violent, abusing clergy of course, and I am not trying to defend them. They had to go too. But remember that 1) many people's parents back in the 50s and 60s and 70s were quite violent too. Thankfully my own weren't, but I know families where the parents were physically abusive. It was also partly the society of the time - no one thought it amiss if parents or teachers landed a few clouts, and priests were part of that system (true, some were way over the top). We tend to judge them with hindsight, which is our perogative, but no doubt future generations will judge us with hindsight in ways we can't imagine now. At the time in Ireland, career choices were often limited to low-income or low-income rural families: inherit the farm, join the police /army, become a priest or emigrate. Thus the church attracted many who had no real vocation or interest in being in it other than as a source of income / employment and perhaps the social status it brought. Thankfully this has changed and I believe a far higher, more dedicated calibre of person is applying to the priesthood these days. I agree with Divis - the church in Ireland was essentially up to its neck in politics here. (Incidentally, the Church of Ireland was too, as the religion of the ascendancy class). Ever since Maynooth and the easing of the Penal laws, it became a bit of a stooge of the Establishment as long as its own freedoms were not interfered with. It obtained a degree of freedom in the running of its own affairs here but the payoff was that it reigned in the Irish Catholics on behalf of the Brit Establishment. It vigourously opposed republicans because they were inspired by some of the republican ideals of the French Revolution (which also regarded the church as a stooge of the aristocracy, the 'second estate'). Ironically in Ireland many republicans were devout catholics with deep faith. They simply did not accept the church's right to make political pronouncements on behalf of the British government (e.g Bishop Coughalan in Cork, 1920). When they were excommunicated for being members of the IRA they simply went to mass in the next parish where they weren't recognised. Unionists have often charged that republicanism is the twin sister of catholicism in Eire but this only illustrates their ignorance (and I use the word in the kindest sense) of republicanism. In fact republicans, through their ignoring of the excommunication edicts, were the first catholics to seriously challenge the power of the catholic church here. Note, they didn't reject their faith, or God, simply the Church's political posturing. There is a good scene in The Wind That Shakes the Barley that illustrates this idea well. It has also been described by Joe McVeigh in his book "A Wounded Church" (published around 1984, I think). Cromwell. There, and with that last word, I managed to just ever so slightly stay within the topic of the thread! ;-} |
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17 Oct 06 - 04:57 PM (#1861555) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Divis Sweeney As always Nickhere, a post well worth reading. |
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18 Oct 06 - 12:54 AM (#1861897) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul from Hull Yes, interesting...thanks |
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18 Oct 06 - 02:39 AM (#1861917) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Nickhere, I would be very interested to know were your figures come from giving the Czech, Poles and other emigrants figures for Sunday Mass attendance. In the large northern town where I live those figures don`t bear out in our two churches. Of the large Polish migrant population here their attendance at Mass is scant, and I can tell you the figures given for the numbers of eastern Europeans here in the north, is well below the Governments estimate, so not to stray too far from the theme of the Thread, Cromwell can rest easy. |
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18 Oct 06 - 08:12 AM (#1862067) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Fiolar I found out when I checked "Familysearch.org" that all Cromwell's ancestors were Welsh. |
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18 Oct 06 - 05:38 PM (#1862625) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Nickhere Ard macha- you asked about the Poles and Czechs etc., at mass. Well, my figures - though I didn't specify any actual numbers - comes from actually seeing them at mass on Sundays, and often on other days of the week as well. That is, in the first person. How do I know they are Polish? Some of them I recognise - they are friends of mine, or students I know. Others I recognise from their accents. I don't speak Polish or Czech, but I can fairly easily recognise some key words and the accents, as I teach Polish and other Eastern European nationals for a living. Indeed, in my town (in the South) there are even Polish-language masses to cater for the needs of the large Polish community here. On weekdays especially there are often as many eastern Europeans as Irish in the church. I don't have exact figures, but as you can see, my own personal experience leads me to conclude that mass attendance is slightly on the up from its previous low, thanks to immigration. Of course, the experience might be different around the country. |
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19 Oct 06 - 04:28 AM (#1862951) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Nickhere, Not quite but getting close, every other person in our town is an eastern European, to confirm what I was already seeing I asked our sexton about the numbers from our ethnic groups who were attending Mass, he was amazed at the suggestion that there were numerous, he told me what I already knew that like our youngsters the young migrants never bothered with religion, that is fact. He told me that they had a special Mass a few weeks before Christmas last year and the leaflets advertising this included five different languages,Polish Lithunian German Spanish and Portuguese, the response was very diaappointing, believe me as I said before all of our towns in Ireland are far higher in ethnic groups that the Government figures show, yes the experience is much different in the this particular northern town and it is not for the want of trying. |
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19 Oct 06 - 04:31 AM (#1862955) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Sorry for the Thread drift, but the number of migrants may surprise any Irish person abroad who isn`t aware of the vast changes here. |
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19 Oct 06 - 04:45 AM (#1862968) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul Burke From my (ethnic Polish and fluent in the language) friend's recent visit to Poland, I gather that the atmosphere there is quite religiously oppressive, much like Ireland in the 50s/60s. I suspect that many of the migrants are young people all to glad to get away from it. On the other hand, if it becomes a nationalist and communalist issue, as it did in Ireland in the late 19th/ early 20th century, religion becomes more entrenched. No surprise, we are seeing a similar phenomenon with Islam in the Middle East. |
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19 Oct 06 - 05:17 AM (#1862989) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST Three more foreign nationals were burned out of their home in a petrol bomb attack in Ballymena in County Antrim. Three devices were thrown through a window of a house at Moat Road at 11.00pm on Monday night. It was the 11th attack on the homes of migrant workers in Ballymena in the past two months. All attacks took place in loyalist areas and are clearly racially motivated. The DUP spokesman for the area said "I think they are fighting among themselves" he added, now that's hearsay, but I believe it. |
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19 Oct 06 - 11:53 AM (#1863290) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Leadfingers 100 Zounds !! |
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19 Oct 06 - 10:18 PM (#1863801) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,sorefingers Dear Guest, not every American is that well versed in who they are related to, and most would rather not go there. Relations like fish, after a few days begin to pong and all that good old fashioned common sense. But I am certain that many of the descendents of early Republican America would find some connection, however slender, to the *I*r*i*s*h* province of Ulster. Isn't it a pity that the Scottish people, in all the places where they eneded up as well as at home, don't make more of their ancient Irish roots too? |
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28 Oct 06 - 01:56 AM (#1870581) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,UsAntiBritishSpies Refresh |
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28 Oct 06 - 01:57 PM (#1870882) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul from Hull Why? |
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28 Oct 06 - 02:01 PM (#1870887) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: harpmaker Three cheers for Oliver!! |
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29 Oct 06 - 01:22 PM (#1871488) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Nigel Parsons OLIVER CROMWELL LAY BURIED AND DEAD (Trad) Oliver Cromwell lay buried and dead, Hee-haw, buried and dead, There grew an old apple-tree over his head, Hee-haw, over his head. The apples were ripe and ready to fall, Hee-haw, ready to fall, There came an old woman to gather them all, Hee-haw, gather them all. Oliver rose and gave her a drop, Hee-haw, gave her a drop, Which made the old woman go hippety hop, Hee-haw, hippety hop. The saddle and bridle, they lie on the shelf, Hee-haw, lie on the shelf, If you want any more your can sing it yourself, Hee-haw, sing it yourself. CHEERS Nigel |
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29 Oct 06 - 05:47 PM (#1871645) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: autolycus I agree about the need for evidence to back assertions. Perhaps someone could say why historians, who have to provide evidence, nevertheless disagree. We then have the spectacle of conservative historians,liberal historians etc.etc. Shurely shome mishtake. Ivor |
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28 Dec 06 - 11:43 AM (#1920534) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST great movie ....make more...*plez* |
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28 Dec 06 - 12:05 PM (#1920554) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,sorefingers Just refreshing this thread reminds me that the US President Guest historian left out one important fact about the Irish Protestant diaspora in the US, all of them, every danged one of them were ANTI Loyalist Royalist. All of them were at heart US-Republicans even if they were in the Democratic party. Happy New Year :0) |
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28 Dec 06 - 01:21 PM (#1920605) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Slag Cromwell hated all tyrannies, but his own. |
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28 Dec 06 - 01:42 PM (#1920622) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: robomatic A couple years ago I visited the Saugus Iron Works in Massachusetts. It was the first successful such enterprise in North America. Part of the secret of its success was cheap labor in the use of Scot prisoners of war from Puritan England. Enjoyed the movie Cromwell without being able to critique it. He seems to have had gifts of military organization, religious doctrine, and politics. Much taken with the English Civil War period, which was far reaching in economics, foreign policy, religion, and politics, and enabled the development of the independent American colonies and probably made the American Revolution possible. |
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28 Dec 06 - 03:07 PM (#1920684) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Shaneo A curse upon you Oliver Cromwell You who raped our Motherland I hope you're rotting down in hell For the horrors that you sent To our misfortunate forefathers Whom you robbed of their birthright "To hell or Connaught" may you burn in hell tonight [Extract Young Ned Of The Hill,,by Terry Woods of The Pogues] |
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28 Dec 06 - 04:48 PM (#1920765) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Paul Burke states that his ethnic Polish friend found a priest dominated society in Poland, mentioning this to my Polish neighbor [also fluent in English] he laughed, before telling me that religion in his native country would not exist except for the elderly`s attendance at Mass. He was surprised to learn that his country was under the influence of the church, as a native of Posnan he said ne never experienced any such lecturing from the clergy, and he could have also added that a visit from a Cromwell like ogre was not necessary. |
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28 Dec 06 - 06:22 PM (#1920842) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Dave the Gnome 2 months late with a response, Ard Mhacha? Not like you! I guess that living in the racist centre of Europe, with more race hate, particularly against east Europeans, than anywhere else does qualify you to comment on affairs in Poland doesn't it. I on the other hand can say nothing. After all my Father is only Polish. I have cousins in Byelostock, Gdansk and Gdynia. My grangparents fled from Poland during WW11, not wanting to be oppressed by either the Germans or Russians. Oh - my Grandfather was ordained a Russian Orthodox priest when he came to England so he was not at all religious. My Great Aunt Olga, who stayed in Poland and died this year at nearly 100 years old, was a regular attender of the local Catholic Church where she met and spoke at leangth to a certain Pope John Paul 11. Now, let me think, where did he come from? Of course you are right, these are all old people. Just like my cousin Jarek in Gdynia who, in his 20s during the mid 1980s, attended the Catholic Church for his trade union meetings. Solidarity or some such. Nothing ever came of them of course becasue the Church supported them. In such a secular country, which the CIA fact book believes to be nearly 90% Roman Catholic with over 75% practicing, the church does of course mean nothing. Now, having established that I have no idea what is going on in Poland, apart from regular mail, email and phone calls from relatives who live there - Oh and discusions with the young people who are not related but who I work with and go to the same shops as I go and live in one of the most densely Polish areas of the UK - Let us discuss how you came about your information. Possibly in a bar where 'What is you religion' is still a very loaded question? Maybe on the streets where your neighbour is quite happy to admit to everyone that he is from eastern Europe? When he 'could have added that a visit from a Cromwell like ogre was not necessary' did he mention that lecturing from clergy was not needed because they have no need to preach to the converted? I look forward to your comments. Cheers Dave the Gnome |
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28 Dec 06 - 06:26 PM (#1920847) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: GUEST,sorefingers DtG do you have a recipe for Bagels? |
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29 Dec 06 - 05:07 AM (#1921151) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha My Polish neighbor is a foreman in a local factory which has a large Polish work force, he frequently returns to Poland to recruit workers. I can surely rely on his word regarding Catholicism in his own country, or the lack of it. Unlike Gnomes I do have a life besides being constantly tied to my PC, try it sometimes but be careful on your streets. |
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29 Dec 06 - 05:22 AM (#1921159) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Dave the Gnome Typical Ard Mhacha response. Lets review it shall we... Would rather rely on the word of a neighbour who has left his own country than that of people still living there. Would rather believe the word of an individual than that of countless reliable sources who insist that the religion of Poland is 90% Catholic with 75% being practicing. When faced with irrefutable proof that he is talking though his arse he would rather make comments about people getting a life. Prefers to make any points that are anti-British rather than face up to the fact that he may just be wrong about something. OK - If it's that important to you then so be it. You are right. The rest of the world is wrong. Arguing with you is completely pointless. I will leave it to other people to decide who is more need of living in the real world. Cheers DtG |
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29 Dec 06 - 05:26 AM (#1921162) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Dave the Gnome Oh - BTW - I am at my PC a lot because it is how I make my living. A very good one at that. Leaves me lots of time and money spare to do pleasant things. Which is probably why I will never be as bitter, twisted and firmly rooted in past hatreds as some on this site. :D (tG) |
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29 Dec 06 - 05:35 AM (#1921167) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha You can be sure I had more than one opinion from the many Poles living in my district, I am very interested to try and learn as much as possible from my migrant friends, apart from religion I am interested in all aspects of life in their country Sport, Customs etc, the younger Poles have a good knowledge of English and I enjoy talking to them. Along with the majority of our youth they are completely devoid of any religion. |
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29 Dec 06 - 06:26 AM (#1921181) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Dave the Gnome Agreed Ard - Why did you not just say that in the first place? Most young people will say that they are devoid of religion. It is of no interest to them. This still does not detract from the fact that 90% of Poles class themselves as Catholic and 75% are practicing. Don't believe me? Check out - Encyclopedia Brittanica If that is too British try The CIA world fact book And if all else fails try The Polish government site Now I am sure you must agree that your original statement religion in his native country would not exist except for the elderly`s attendance at Mass is a far cry from the more recent Along with the majority of our youth they are completely devoid of any religion. I do know a lot about Poland, it's history and it's culture and the former statement is, quite simply, wrong. I am more than happy to accept the latter as agreement that your original may not be completely true. I do apologise unreservedly for my previous uncalled for sarcastic comments. Maybe if there were more people like yourself, willing to talk to recent immigrants and understand them, we would not see the awful incidence of race hate in both our countries. Cheers DtG |
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29 Dec 06 - 06:32 AM (#1921184) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul Burke Maybe the Polish experts would llike to comment on this interview given recently by a Polish deputy education minister? Or this survey of Polish racist groups, some of which are included in the governing coalition at national or local level? But the real point was my comparison of Poland today with Ireland of the 50s/60s. The Catholic church entrenched as a conservative political power-behind-the-scenes; the widespread support, and also widespread resentment; the restrictive social legislation; the appeals to nationalism. And, to fetch us back to the topic, the comparison between the sufferings of Ireland due to British imperialism comares with the Polish nationalism engendered by Russian and German states grasping at the country. In both cases, a repressive religious view and a n often kneejerk nationalism are the result. |
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29 Dec 06 - 07:23 AM (#1921203) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha DTG, You do slobber on, if you care to read my posts further up this Thread you will see that I stated that the attendances in Ireland had declined, given as 60^ in 1998 |
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29 Dec 06 - 07:28 AM (#1921205) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha SORRY TYPING SLIP, todays figures would be under 50*, I see in Google one figure for Poland`s attendances as 86%, while another gives 55*, less than a third attend church in Poland, the Poles I speak to are either lying or those figures are rather haphazard, I know who I believe. |
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29 Dec 06 - 07:29 AM (#1921206) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Dave the Gnome It's decidedly worrying, Paul. Maybe it's why lots of the young are leaving? To understand the Polish people and culture would take a lifetime of study to an outsider. Historicaly the country has seen more flux than any other European country I think. It has in it's history been changed, re-shaped and occupied by more outsiders than anywhere else. There has been times in it's history where little has existed at all apart from a small area around Warsaw. Where else in the last 60 years has been an independant nation, occupied and ruled by Nazi Germany, all but ruled by Soviet Russia, been goverened by a Trade Union and produced a Catholic pope? I suspect that the nationalism there is direct backlash to those years of being governed by extreme factions. Much the same as the nationalist reactions in both East Germany and Cossack Ukraine. The religious side of it is, in my opinion, part of that nationalism due to the countries undoubted religious ties. As Ard Mhacha is now saying it is the young people leaving Poland that want to have little to do with that religion. Understandably so in my view. With reference to this argument the country will be undergoing a political and religious freedom they have not seen for many years. Possibly much akin to England (and Ireland of course) emerging out of the 'Curse of Cromwell'. Little aside - My Grandparents, as I said, left Byelostok (or Bialystok to give it the more suitable Polish spelling) at the tail end of WW11. They lived near the Jewish Ghetto which all but wiped out the Jewish population of that town. They both literaly risked life and limb to smuggle books and possesions out of the Ghetto for safekeeping and to pass to the surviving relatives. I never found out what became of the stuff! Interestingly enough Bialystok now has a very high proportion of Moslems in place of the Jews. Remember Cheetham Hill from your days round here? It is pretty much the same there but for much different reasons of course! Cheers DtG |
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29 Dec 06 - 09:16 AM (#1921272) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Dave the Gnome the Poles I speak to are either lying or those figures are rather haphazard, I know who I believe. I wonder where I have heard that before? In another thread did I not suggest that people who are actualy there know more than reported figures? And did you not dismiss that idea? What it boils down to is that anything I say is a lie? Is that because I am half English or because I am half Polish? Which half of me is the most trustworthy do you think? Incidentaly figures of anything between 55% and 86% are still a far cry from "religion in his native country would not exist except for the elderly`s attendance at Mass." And the 55% - 86% attendance includes only those of the Roman Catholic faith. When you add Orthodox, Moslem and all the other faiths the figures increase significantly. All you have to decide is if I am speaking as a Bastard Brit or a trustworthy Pole. :D (tG) |
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29 Dec 06 - 03:18 PM (#1921483) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: ard mhacha Are you still rattling on DTG, have you a problem or did a dog piss in your eye, careful where they set you down in the garden. |
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29 Dec 06 - 03:43 PM (#1921499) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Dave the Gnome No sensible answer then Ard? Typical. No wonder my Dad said never argue with an Irishman. :D (tG) |
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29 Dec 06 - 07:27 PM (#1921701) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: freda underhill ard mhacha "You do slobber on/ have you a problem or did a dog piss in your eye, careful where they set you down in the garden." why speak like that? |
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29 Dec 06 - 07:29 PM (#1921703) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Paul from Hull Sadly Freda, thats just the way he is, it seems. It might have been moderately funny if he hadnt meant it nastily. |
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30 Dec 06 - 03:56 AM (#1921956) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Keith A of Hertford Are personal attacks OK now? |
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30 Dec 06 - 12:36 PM (#1922292) Subject: RE: BS: The Curse of Cromwell From: Big Al Whittle Mornington Crescent....! |