TOM REILLY (IRISH HISTORIAN)

'Tom Reilly' (born 1960) is an Irish author and newspaper columnist, who has written several books on Oliver Cromwell and Ireland.
Reilly was born in Drogheda, Republic of Ireland. His most noted work is ''Cromwell - An Honourable Enemy: The Untold Story of the Cromwellian Invasion of Ireland'' (1999). His later works were published by the print-on-demand self-publisher, Trafford Publishing.
Reilly explained at the time of the book's first release:

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.^[1]

The book garnered mixed reviews:

★ "An important book...scrupulous in [his] examination of evidence...assiduous in research and [he] quotes primary sources extensively.... he understands that the past should not be judged by the standards and fashions of the 1990s (''London Sunday Times'').

★ John Morrill, Professor of British and Irish History at Cambridge University and a Fellow at Selwyn College, Oxford, commented "A major attempt at rehabilitation was attempted by Tom Reilly, Cromwell: An Honourable Enemy (London, 1999) but this has been largely rejected by other scholars."^[2]

★ In the journal ''History Ireland'', Eugene Coyle wrote: "The historical evidence presented by Reilly is not convincing. He frequently refers to 'respective partisan nationalist elements' who are reluctant to accept 'the rehabilitated version of Oliver Cromwell' who was 'merely one in a long line of English oppressors'. The author's style is often superficial, volatile, tendentious and partisan in the face of known historical evidence. The book adds little to our understanding of the actions of Cromwell at Drogheda or at Wexford. His general thesis that Cromwell may well have had no moral right to take the lives at Drogheda or Wexford 'but he certainly had the law firmly on his side' does not stand up to examination. There is a need for a new book on the Irish Cromwellian campaign but unfortunately this is not it."^[3]
Amongst his other books is ''Life of Reilly'' (2006), which is based on the author's newspaper column.

Contents

Bibliography

References

Bibliography

★ ''Cromwell at Drogheda'', , , , Broin Print Ltd. (1993); ISBN 0-95222-910-2, , (co-written with James Garry)

★ ''Cromwell - An Honourable Enemy:The Untold Story of the Cromwellian Invasion of Ireland'', , , , Brandon Books (1999) and Phoenix Press (2001); ISBN 0-86322-250-1, ,

★ ''Hollow Be Thy Name'', , , , Trafford Publishing, (2006), ISBN 1-55395-066-6; ISBN 978-1553950660, ,

★ ''Life of Reilly'', , , , Trafford Publishing, (2006); ISBN 1-41208-867-4; ISBN 978-1412088671, ,

References

1. [1]
2. John Morrill. "Rewriting Cromwell: A Case of Deafening Silences." ''Canadian Journal of History.'' Dec 2003: 19.
3. Eugene Coyle. Review of ''Cromwell - An Honourable Enemy.'' ''History Ireland''