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I’ve recently been feeling a lot of love for Morrissey’s song Irish Blood, English Heart and the vitriolic way he spits out the following lyrics: 

Irish blood, English heart, this I’m made of
There is no-one on earth I’m afraid of
And no regime can buy or sell me

I’ve been dreaming of a time when
To be English is not to be baneful
To be standing by the flag not feeling
Shameful, racist or partial

Irish blood, English heart, this I’m made of
There is no-one on earth I’m afraid of
And I will die with both my hands untied

I’ve been dreaming of a time when
The English are sick to death of Labour
And Tories, and spit upon the name of Oliver Cromwell
And denounce this royal line that still salute him
And will salute him forever

However, the final verse has been puzzling me a bit. Surely, as a staunch anti-monarchist, Morrissey should be fully behind the likes of Oliver Cromwell. As always, a bit of digging around explained why the man is held in particularly low regard by a lot of people - his fundamentalist views on religion make a good start. Morrissey’s main problem probably comes from the fact that during campaigns associated with the English Civil War, troops under Cromwell’s control commited a number of massacres in Ireland, notably at places like Drogheda and Wexford.

As always it comes down to shades of grey and personal preference when ascertaining Oliver Cromwell’s true status as hero or villain. He was voted the tenth greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 survey, yet to some he is one of history’s greatest monsters.