The Irish standard., 1907-11-09
Limerick and the Noble Part It Took in the
Last Great Armed Struggle For
Irish Freedom.
1t Was an Important Place as Early as the
Fifth Century, When 1t Was Vis-
tied by St. Patrick.

people, died of a. plague, which broke
out among the people, after he had
vengeance on many Of the
leaders who had denlad NM
A Glorious 1Eptssde.
The record, however, which censti.
tutes the most glorious episode in the
history of Limerick was it's defense
against the attacks Of William Of Or
ange, and of his commander. Ginckla.
The glorious bravery Of Patrick Sars.
field in that conflict not only rendered
his name imperishable in Irish annals.
but the renown attached to the defense
of Limerick has nerved Irish arms to
daedE Of bravery on every battlefield,
both foreign and domestic, ever since.
King James army had been routed at
the Boyne by the Williamite forces.
William advanced on Limerick with a
force of thirty-eight thousand men,
while defending the city on the Irish
side, although some of them constituted
tho flower of James army. there were
less than ten thousand men, an add.
tional four thousand cavalry being en-.
camped on the Glare side of the Shan--
non.
James army was commanded by Gen.
Patrick Sarsfield-whom James had
created Earl of Lucan-by Berwick and
L,r tIo Iisra, N Do
Among the other generals on the Irish
side we're Tyrconnel and I.auzun, both
of whom, when they had estimated the
tremendous forces of William, desired
to surrender the city to him without
the firing Of a. gun. Sarsfield and hts
Irish followers. however, would not lis
ten to the proposal and arranged for th~
defense Of the city. sarsfleld was ap-
pointed commander of the horse and
took his stand on the Glare side Of the
shannon. his duty being at all hazard,
to prevent the Williamites from oross-.
ing to the Glare side at any Of the
fords above the city which was very
poorly defended by earthworks ...
Tho Siege Of 1880.
William had started on his encanp-
ment at Cahirconlish. some eight milss
southeast Of the city. He was confi-
dent Of an easy victory over the Irish
forces, and all through the 9th Of Au-
gust. 1890, occupied himself in select-
ing favorable sites for batteries to COM
mand Limerick. He then sent In .
summons commanding the Irish forces
to surrender, but De Boisseleau replied
that he "hoped he should merit his
opinion more by victorious defense
than a shameful surrender of a fortress
which he had been intrusted with" /.
The bombardmant Of the city by tho
Wllliamite forces Immediately began
and continued for two days, but the
response or the Limerick gunners on
the other hand was far more active and
sustained than William had antioipat-
ed. The balls from the cannon inside
the city were falling so thickly about,
Williams own tent Lll3L ne QdQ 70 SILL
his quarters moro than once. Never
theless, he had no doubt of his ability
to capture the city, because an inn
mensc siege train and g. pontoon bridge
with which to cross the Shannon were
on the way from Waterford to his as
sistance, and would he due In Liner
ick the next day. The battering train
had reached cashel on Sunday. August
10, and the following Monday. had got
to a, place called Balyneety. near oola.
between the present station, known asl
the Limerick Junction Of the great
Southern and Western railroad, and
the Williamite camp at Cahirconlish.
Tho Hsoric Defense of the City. Il
William mined, but Sarsfleld coun-
ter-mined. On August u William gave
orders for tho final onslaught on the
city. Ten thousand men were ordered
to support the stormins party, and at
given signal. at $3.50 in the after
noon. Ave hundred Williamite grena.
s