CROMWELL IN IRELAND   RTE One, Tuesday 9th and 16th September 2008 10.15pm     CROMWELL IN IRELAND is Tile Films' hugely ambitious new docudrama series exploring the great nemesis of Irish history: Oliver Cromwell. Starring Owen Roe as Oliver Cromwell, Declan Conlon as Hugh Dubh O’Neill and Catherine Walker as Elizabeth Price, Cromwell in Ireland is directed by two-time IFTA winning director Maurice Sweeney and presented by leading historian Dr Micheál Ó Siochrú. Airing to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Cromwell’s death on 3rd September 1658, the series consolidates Ó Siochrú’s fascinating take on this crucial time in Irish history. An estimated 500,000 Irish people died from war, plague and famine during Cromwell’s military campaign, making it one of the greatest catastrophes ever to befall the country. But strikingly, Micheál reveals how ‘God’s Englishman’ helped to lay the foundations for the modern Ireland that we know today. Many see Oliver Cromwell as a champion of modern democracy, the man who executed a tyrannical king 140 years before the French Revolution. He was a military genius, the father of the modern army, and he influenced everyone from Napoleon to Vladimir Lenin. For others he was a despot, militarily naïve and morally corrupt. Shot on High-Definition, Cromwell in Ireland recreates one of the most bleak, brutal and war-torn eras in history. Large-scale dramatic reconstructions are combined with ground-breaking CGI to recreate the set piece sieges and battles that shaped Irish history for centuries to come. Owen Roe as Oliver Cromwell gives an emotional performance that does much to humanise the man. Exploring the human cost of war, the violent impact of ethnic conflict on a ravaged population, Cromwell in Ireland has a stark relevance today. Combining drama and action with a poignant reflection on the horrors of war, Cromwell in Ireland is a unique take on a man who has cast a dark shadow on the bloodstained backdrop of history. Cromwell in Ireland was commissioned by RTÉ Television in association with The History Channel, and with support from the BCI.     Click here for a chronology of events in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. Find out more about the historic sites associated with Cromwell's conquest. Back to Recent Productions