God's Executioner Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland by Dr Micheál Ó Siochrú (4-Jun-2009) Paperback

They're 50 pages long, they're little hardbacks... Oliver Cromwell, Warwick the Kingmaker, James the First and the Gunpowder plot.

I mean, Ireland in the 17th century is a colony, put it bluntly.

It's a colony that's exploited by the English in their own economic interests, but it's a highly complex society.

The vast majority of the people are indigenous native Irish people who have remained steadfastly Catholic.

So not only are they suspect, if you like, on ethnic grounds, but they're also suspect on religious grounds.

And it's that combination of ethno-religious hostility, I think that gives a particular nasty edge to Anglo-Irish relations.