Re:Story: ‘Sarsfield’s return to Limerick’

SARSFIELD is a name synonymous with Limerick, featuring on streets, bridges, barracks and stouts, but what is all the fuss about?

During the 1690 Siege of Limerick, King William of Orange had the city surrounded and intended to finish his war with a bang. One hundred and fifty three wagon loads of heavy artillery was called in to wipe Limerick from the face of the earth!

Patrick Sarsfield was serving as commander-in-chief of the Irish forces and hatched a daring plan to intercept the incoming artillery before it reached the city.

Sarsfield personally embarked on a midnight ride behind enemy lines with the help of Galloping O'Hogan and his brave band of rapparees. Their mission was successful and William’s artillery was piled in a field and set alight, it erupted in a massive explosion seen from the walls of Limerick 26km away!

Our city narrowly escaped utter obliteration while Sarsfield, O’Hogan and their men rode off triumphantly with 300 hundred horses.

Patrick Sarsfield later negotiated The Treaty of Limerick, which enshrined the rights for “all the inhabitants and residents of Limerick, to hold, possess and enjoy all and every estate of freehold and inheritance with their rights, titles, interests, privileges and immunities.”

Sarsfield upheld Limerick's end of the bargain by leading thousands of Irish soldiers to exile in France, becoming known as the Flight of the Wild Geese.

Sadly, the Treaty was betrayed by King William who imposed terrible Penal Laws on Ireland a few years later. “Cuimhnigh ár Luimneach” became the battle cry of the Wild Geese remembering the betrayal of the Treaty.

Sarsfield was wounded fighting in the Flanders and died in 1693, the location of his resting place remained a mystery for centuries. Thanks to the diligent work of Dr. Loic Guyon from the Department of French Studies in Mary Immaculate College, new information about Sarsfield’s final resting place was brought to light.

Dr. Guyon was accompanied by the Mayor of Limerick Francis Foley and Aegis Archaeology at the excavation site in Belgium
last month, where they officially launched The Sarsfield Homecoming Project, a fundraising campaign to excavate and repatriate Limerick’s legendary hero.

The Wild Geese Festival takes place in Limerick each July and celebrates Ireland’s historic links with France. This year the Wild Geese Festival will feature events in the Hunt Museum Garden, The Milk Market and St. Mary’s Cathedral.

It is hoped that the people of Limerick will attend the festival to celebrate their incredible history on Bastille Day weekend.

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