Cromwell held all Irish Catholics responsible for the rebellion of 1641 and said he would deal with them according to their "respective de-merits" – meaning sanctions varying from execution in worst cases, to partial land confiscation even for those who had taken no part in the wars.
Cromwell je držao sve irske katolike odgovornima za pobunu 1641. i rekao da će se s njima nositi u skladu s njihovim "zaslugama" – što je značilo različite sankcije od pogubljenja u najgorem slučaju, do djelomičnog oduzimanja zemljišta čak i za one koji uopće nisu sudjelovali u ratovima.