Latest / The History of Ireland: Rebellion, Empire, and Independence — Fexingo History / The Siege of Limerick 1691: The Treaty That Changed Ireland
Transcript
- Lucas: If you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, you'll remember the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 — William III's victory over James II. But the Boyne didn't end the war in Ireland. The real climax came a year later, at Limerick, and it ended not with a battle cry but with a treaty — one that promised peace and delivered persecution. Luna: The Treaty of Limerick — I've heard that name, but I've never really understood what it said. Lucas: That's exactly what we need to dig into. Because the Treaty of Limerick is one of the most famously broken promises in Irish history. And it starts with a man named Patrick Sarsfield — a Jacobite general who became the soul of the Irish resistance after the Boyne. Luna: Sarsfield — he's the one who led the Wild Geese, right? Lucas: Exactly. But before the exile, there was a siege. After the Boyne, James II fled to France, and the Jacobite forces in Ireland — mostly Irish Catholics loyal to James — fell back to the Shannon. Limerick was their last stronghold. The city had two parts: English Town on the east bank, and Irish Town on an island in the river. Both were walled, and the Shannon provided a natural moat. Lucas: In August 1690, William's army under Godert de Ginkel — a Dutch general — arrived and tried to take the city by storm. They failed. Sarsfield had slipped out with a cavalry force and destroyed the Williamite siege train at Ballyneety, about fifteen miles away — a raid that bought Limerick another year. Luna: So he blew up their artillery? That's bold. Lucas: It was. But the real drama came in 1691. Ginkel returned with fresh guns and a massive army — about 25,000 men. The Jacobites inside Limerick had maybe 14,000, but they were running out of food and ammunition. The siege began in earnest in June, and by July the situation was desperate. Lucas: Before we go deep into the negotiations — and this is something we believe in strongly — we deliberately don't run ads on these episodes. If you want to support that choice, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every bit helps us keep telling stories like Sarsfield's without interruptions. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the show exactly what it is — history, not commercials. Lucas: So back to Limerick. In August, Ginkel managed to cross the Shannon and attacked the city from both sides. The walls were breached, but the Jacobites fought house to house. By September, both sides were exhausted. Ginkel offered terms. Luna: And Sarsfield agreed to negotiate? Lucas: Reluctantly. The Jacobite commanders — Sarsfield, along with the French general d'Usson and others — knew they couldn't hold out through another winter. They sent negotiators to talk with Ginkel. The result was two treaties, actually: a military treaty about the surrender of the city, and a civil treaty about the rights of Catholics. Lucas: The civil articles were remarkable. They promised Catholics the same religious freedom they had under Charles II — which meant they could practice their faith privately, though not publicly. They also guaranteed that Catholics could keep their property, and that any oaths of allegiance wouldn't require them to renounce their religion. It was, on paper, a generous settlement. Luna: But it didn't last. Lucas: It didn't last at all. The treaty was signed on October 3, 1691, on a stone in the middle of the River Shannon — the Treaty Stone. But almost immediately, the Protestant Ascendancy in the Irish Parliament began to chip away at it. They argued that the treaty was only a military surrender, not a binding civil agreement. By 1695, the first of the Penal Laws were passed, banning Catholics from teaching, bearing arms, owning horses worth more than five pounds — a whole apparatus of legal discrimination. Luna: So the treaty was basically broken within four years. Lucas: Exactly. And the breaking of the treaty had huge consequences. The military articles allowed the Jacobite army to leave for France — about 12,000 soldiers and their families sailed from Limerick to Brittany and elsewhere. Those were the Wild Geese. They formed the Irish Brigade in the French army and fought for France in every major European war for the next century. Sarsfield himself died in 1693 at the Battle of Landen, leading a charge. Luna: He never came home. Lucas: No. And the treaty that was supposed to allow Irish Catholics to live in peace became a symbol of betrayal. For generations, the phrase 'Limerick's broken treaty' was shorthand for English perfidy. It fuelled the resentment that would eventually explode in the 1798 Rebellion and beyond. Luna: What about the actual stone? The Treaty Stone — is it still there? Lucas: It is. It sits on a pedestal on the Thomond Bridge in Limerick, with an inscription. It's become a sort of pilgrimage site for Irish nationalists. But it's also a reminder that a piece of paper — even one signed by generals — is only as strong as the will to keep it. Lucas: There's a coda to this story that not everyone knows. The civil articles of the Treaty of Limerick were actually ratified by William III and Mary II — they were law. But the Irish Parliament simply ignored them. And because the English Parliament had given the Irish Parliament legislative independence in 1782, there was no higher authority to enforce the treaty. So the Penal Laws stood. Luna: It's like the treaty existed in a legal vacuum. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the tragedy. The Treaty of Limerick could have been a foundation for a more inclusive Ireland. Instead, it became a monument to broken faith.