Nowadays He Would Be Outlawed Poem by Francis Duggan

In Melbourne streets named in his honour but do Melburnians know
What Cromwell did to the poor of Ireland more than three centuries ago?
Nowadays he would be outlawed for his crimes against humanity
But then it's true that the conquerors always write history.

He evicted poor tenant farmers and burnt their houses down
And burnt to ashes their churches in his crusade for the crown
And in the depths of Winter with food and shelter to them denied
By bare hedgerows on the roadsides people in their thousands died.

Cromwells's period in Ireland is a period of shame
And you won't find any streets there in honour of his name
His name there is still hated for the cruelty he did show
To the poor and un-protected more than three centuries ago.

In Ireland he's remembered for his crimes against humanity
But in many Melbourne suburbs a Cromwell street you'll see
And every time i pass by a street that honours Cromwell's name
I recall one who is still loathed for his crimes and acts of shame