Irish ‘renegades’ were only fighting to reclaim what was theirs

The Irish history I was taught in school differs considerably from Professor Paul MacCotter’s version (Irish Examiner, Dec 30).

We were taught that the ethnic cleansing was carried out by the Normans.

According to his version, Normans began to inhabit the Lee valley in the 13th century.

But as this was already occupied by native Irish the Normans were involved in bloodthirsty ethnic-cleansing when they murdered, raped, pillaged and burned with such brutal ferocity it forced the Irish landowners to abandon large parts of rural Cork and escape to poorer parts of west Cork and Kerry and any remaining were virtual slaves.

Prof Cotter’s article is typical of recent trends by others to rewrite history — eg Irish people fighting to reclaim what was taken from them by force are called renegades.

Bill Daly

Ballyhooly

Co Cork