The tale of the Cork midge that supposedly killed Oliver Cromwell is a ‘wonderful story’ and worthy of a statue in the city, a local councillor has argued. 

The English tyrant’s conquest of Ireland led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people. 

Civilians were massacred, forcibly displaced to Connacht, while others were exiled to the Caribbean. 

However, some believe Ireland also had a hand in Cromwell’s death as well, with the despot dying of so-called ‘Cork fever’ - or malaria - which local legend tells he contracted while in the Rebel County. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, Green Party Councillor  Oliver Moran described it as a “great story”. 

“I think it's a question that you could possibly analyse a little bit too much from a historical point of view, but from the point of view of the story, I think it's wonderful,” he said. 

Cllr Moran noted Cork City Council is putting together a public arts strategy but suggested that the other ideas are not especially innovative. 

“What I've seen from my colleagues on Cork City Council, with every respect to them, there's a lot of proposals for statues to men from the revolutionary period,” he said. 

“So, one particular decade between, say, 1916 and 1926.

“What I'm interested in is that actually the history of Cork and the city and everything that we can celebrate about it has a much longer history, a thousand years. 

“Including incredible stories like this one of the mosquito or the midge that ultimately killed Oliver Cromwell.” 

An Oliver Cromwell statue. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Cllr Moran continued that public artwork should “attract people,” which he believes a statue of Cromwell’s killer might do. 

“What struck me when the idea or suggestion for a statue to this midge came up is that, well, that would be a very small statue,” he said. 

“Very obviously would be even maybe the smallest statue in the world; where it will be located, I don't know.” 

If such a statue is erected, Cllr Moran believes the empty plinth outside Cork City Hall would be the ideal place. 

“It has been discussed in the past what to do with it, who should go on it,” he said. 

“I think it will be quite an interesting thing to be passing by what looks like an empty plinth and say, ‘Oh, no, no, look closer, look closer, there is the smallest statue in the world to a midge’.”

Main image: A split of a midge and Cromwell. Pictures by: Alamy.com.