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Henry Ireton (1611 – November 26, 1651) was a Parliamentarian General during the English Civil War, and the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell, having married his eldest daughter Bridget. Born into a wealthy Nottinghamshire-family he studied at Trinity College, Oxford. At the outbreak of war, he joined the parliamentary army, fighting at the Battle of Edgehill and at the Battle of Gainsborough. He was made deputy-governor of the Isle of Ely and served under Earl of Manchester in the Yorkshire campaign. On the night before the Battle of Naseby, in June 1645, he succeeded in surprising the Royalist army and captured many prisoners. Ireton was initially a moderate. At the Putney Debates, he opposed extremism, disliked the views of the Republicans and the Levellers, which he considered impractical and dangerous to the foundations of society. In 1649, he joined Cromwell on a campaign in Ireland. When Cromwell returned to England, in preparation for an invasion fo Scotland, Ireton took charge. His campaign was savage and merciless – after the the capture of Limerick, he had the town’s dignitaries hanged for their defence of the city. He died shortly afterwards, having caught the plague that was raging through the city. Several nearby roads commemorate Civil War figures.
