His head was displayed at fêtes and circuses, before eventually being buried at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.John Goldsmith, curator of the Cromwell museum in Huntingdon, regards the death mask as a treasure. "But we're satisfied it will be quite safe in Drogheda," he said. "I wasn't unduly surprised there was a reaction to the presence of the mask in the town. Let's just hope the debate can be better informed."Mr Godfrey, who says he has received hundreds of messages of support, rejects further discussion of the issue "The talking's finished," he said. "Let's just get rid of the thing."One direct consequence of Mr Godfrey's hate campaign has been to increase the number of visitors to the museum threefold.Last Friday a local pensioner was among the first of the lunchtime visitors.
"I wouldn't have been a fan of Cromwell's and I wouldn't have liked to meet him in person," he said "But now that he's dead, I don't suppose he's much harm.". This morning's crucial Ulster Unionist council vote - on whether to go back into government with Sinn Fein - could go either way, it was claimed. This morning's crucial Ulster Unionist council vote - on whether to go back into government with Sinn Fein - could go either way, it was claimed. Just hours before the party's 860 delegates met in Belfast's Waterfront Hall to give their verdict on the IRA's disarmament offer, David Trimble's allies and opponents said the result was too close to call.One senior source close to the leader said: "We feel things have been moving our way over the past few days but you just cannot predict something like this."Yesterday Mr David Trimble politely but firmly turned down a plan advanced by his key opponent, the Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson, that the party should stay out of government with Sinn Fein until the IRA began decommissioning and provided a timetable for complete disarmament.The Trimble camp and other observers have been encouraged in recent days that opinion within the 860-strong Ulster Unionist Council appeared to be drifting in their direction. Last night however there was concern that the Donaldson plan might confuse and cloud the issue at this morning's meeting.The plan was seen as being targeted specifically at those council members who are wavering about supporting Mr Trimble's proposals. In emphasising the traditional party goals of achieving decommissioning and of saving the name of the Royal Ulster Constabulary it will appeal to those who feel Mr Trimble has been too innovative and flexible.Mr Trimble commented: "If the Ulster Unionist party were to go back to ideas of some sort of phased implementation, other parties would regard it as simply moving backwards and adopting a Unionist wish list. There isn't really much prospect of this working."Mr Donaldson said his plan was a genuine and sincere attempt to avoid a party split. Both sides were last night waiting for word from deputy leader John Taylor, who has yet to say how he will vote.Peter Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, appealed for support for Mr Trimble.
"Something better is not going to turn up that has the support of both traditions It is time to choose. The time for negotiation is over," he said.*An attack in which a man was shot dead in north Belfast yesterday morning is believed to be part of a feud between rival loyalist paramilitary factions. All four of this year's Troubles-related deaths have resulted from loyalist feuding.. The last time David Trimble addressed the Ulster Unionist Council, as he will do again today, the jeers directed against him included a number of calls of "Fenian-lover". The last time David Trimble addressed the Ulster Unionist Council, as he will do again today, the jeers directed against him included a number of calls of "Fenian-lover". The accusation of being prepared to consort with Catholics is one of the most primeval and one of the most potent in the loyalist lexicon.
Down the years, it has been flung at those Unionist leaders who advocate making a deal.The fact that it was flung at Mr Trimble is of great significance, in that until fairly recently his own personal commitment to the peace process was a matter of debate. Many nationalists suspected that he harboured hopes of wrecking the process rather than advancing it.While it is clear that his commitment is one of the head rather than the heart, his personal commitment to it is now unmistakable. In taking the latest IRA proposition to the council he is placing his leadership at risk, just as Gerry Adams and John Hume did at earlier stages.Those who branded him a "Fenian-lover" have not joined him in his journey from the more extreme reaches of Unionism to the more accommodating. Rather, they remain mired in the uglier aspects of Unionism, clinging to the old habits of separation, sectarianism and supremacy.
