11 (25) Swedish version
	The British conquest of Ireland began as early as 1170. Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, better known as Strongbow, landed at Waterford with an army of 1000 Welsh archers. Strongbow conquered Dublin and King Henry II claimed Ireland as a part of his British kingdom. The island was difficult to master though, especially the northern province of Ulster, which we nowadays call Northern Ireland. The British dominance was total in the mid-17th century when Oliver Cromwell, with unspeakable cruelty, crushed an Irish rebellion. The terror of Cromwell deepened the hatred between the Irish and the British and gave the conquest a religious imprint. This was the beginning of an extensive discrimination of the Catholics, leaving a long row of rebellion years burning in the Irish history: 1690, 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916. The Protestants still commemorate the Battle of Boyne in 1690, when William of Orange won a decisive victory over the Jacobite (Catholic) army of James II. The battle is often referred to as the ultimate victory over Papism. What the loyalists and skinheads of today don't realize is that the Catholic Church and the Pope in those days supported the Protestant William of Orange. Politics and religion are not always the same.
	First published: Sunday 27th October, 1996. Send a to the author! You may also use this form