Treaty of Limerick

The Treaty of Limerick (Irish: Conradh Luimnigh), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a French expeditionary force and Irish Jacobites loyal to the exiled James II. Baron de Ginkell, leader of government forces in Ireland, signed on behalf of William III and his wife Mary II. It allowed Jacobite units to be transported to France, the diaspora known as the Flight of the Wild Geese.

The other set out conditions for those who remained, including guarantees of religious freedom for Catholics, and retention of property for those who remained in Ireland. Many were subsequently altered or ignored, establishing the Protestant Ascendancy that dominated Ireland until the Catholic emancipation in the first half of the 19th century.

William's victory at the Battle of Boyne in July 1690 was less decisive than appeared at the time, Jacobite losses being around 2,000 out of a force of 25,000. That assumption formed the basis of the Declaration of Finglas, largely dictated by Irish Protestants; it offered the Jacobite rank and file amnesty, but by excluding senior officers, threatened another round of land confiscations. The war continued, with French victories in the Low Countries briefly increasing hopes of a Stuart restoration.

The Jacobites established a defensive line along the Shannon, and repulsed attempts to capture Limerick and Athlone. However, Connacht and County Kerry could not feed an additional 20,000 soldiers, plus refugees, while the loss of the south-western ports of Kinsale and Cork made resupply from France extremely difficult. By the spring of 1691, both soldiers and civilians were starving.

Although the English Parliament was divided politically, all parties broadly agreed on the need to re-establishing the pre-1685 settlement. In fact, Parliament wanted more resources dedicated to Ireland than William, who viewed it as secondary to the war in Europe. In 1691, French preparations for an offensive in the Low Countries led William to authorise De Ginkell to offer whatever terms were necessary to make peace. This caused much conflict later on.

Jacobite strategy was impacted by internal divisions. James II saw Ireland as a distraction, a perspective shared by many of the English and Scots exiles. For the French, it was a way to divert Williamite resources, and their approach was purely military. After the Boyne, they recommended Dublin be destroyed, and argued Limerick should not be defended; they withdrew to Galway in September 1690, and many of their troops returned to France.

The Irish Jacobites were broadly divided into a pro-war faction, headed by Sarsfield, who argued military victory was still possible, and those led by Tyrconnell, who advocated negotiating peace while they still retained an army. In May, a French convoy reached Limerick with additional French troops, arms and provisions but lack of transport meant most of it remained in the port.

These articles dealt with the treatment of the disbanded Jacobite army. Under the treaty, Jacobite soldiers in formed regiments had the option to leave with their arms and flags for France to continue serving under James II in the Irish Brigade. Some 14,000 Jacobites chose this option and were marched south to Cork where they embarked on ships for France, many of them accompanied by their wives and children. Individual soldiers wanting to join the French, Spanish or Austrian armies also emigrated in what became known as the Flight of the Wild Geese.