There is a street in Drogheda named after Oliver Cromwell’s work there; it is called Scarlet Lane for the blood which flowed down its streets. Why was Cromwell in Ireland and why in Drogheda?
OLIVER CROMWELL CAME TO IRELAND IN 1649 as head of the English army that was given the task of suppressing those Royalists who wanted to restore the English monarchy. The monarch, Charles I, had been beheaded in 1649 after losing a civil war to the forces of Parliament. Of course, many still had loyalty to the king and his son whom they wanted to install as Charles II , and many of those loyalists were in Ireland.
Not only was there Irish support for a monarchy, but also there was hope that Charles II would repay the Irish for its support by granting freedom of worship to the Roman Catholics. The first order of business of the new Council of State which succeeded the monarchy as ruler of England was to regain control of Ireland , and Oliver Cromwell, who had proven himself an able military commander during the civil war, was sent to Ireland to reestablish suzerainty over Ireland .