Siege of Limerick (1691)

Limerick in western Ireland was besieged twice during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689-91). The city, held by Jacobite forces was able to beat off a Williamite assault in 1690. However, after a second siege in August-October 1691, it surrendered on terms.

The siege
By the time of the second siege, the military situation had turned against the Jacobites. The main Jacobite army was smashed at the Battle of Aughrim in July 1691, losing 4,000 men killed, including their commander, the Marquis de St Ruth and thousands more taken prisoner and deserted. Galway had surrendered in July 1691. The Jacobite survivors retreated to Limerick, but in contrast to the previous year, their morale was very low and they were ready to surrender. On the other hand, the defences of Limerick had been considerably strengthened since 1690. The Williamite general Godert de Ginkell surrounded the city and bombarded it, tearing a breach in the walls of English town. A surprise Williamite attack drove the Irish defenders from the earthworks defending Thomond bridge, sending its Irish defenders reeling back towards Limerick. The French defenders of the main gate of the city refused to open it for the fleeing Irish and about 800 of them were cut down or drowned in the river Shannon.

Capitulation and Treaty
After this point, Patrick Sarsfield ousted the Chevalier de Tessé and the Marquis d'Usson, the French commanders in Limerick, and began negotiations to surrender. He and Ginkel concluded a treaty that promised to: respect the civilian population of Limerick; tolerate the Catholic religion in Ireland; guarantee against the confiscation of Catholic-owned land; and allow Sarsfield and the Jacobite army to be transported to France. Limerick surrendered under these terms in October 1691. Sarsfield left Ireland with 10,000 soldiers and 4,000 women and children to enter the French service. This journey has become known as the Flight of the Wild Geese. The terms of the Treaty of Limerick were subsequently rejected in the Protestant dominated Irish Parliament.