Treaty of Limerick

The Treaty of Limerick (Irish: Conradh Luimnigh) ended the Williamite War in Ireland between the Jacobites and the supporters of William of Orange and concluded the Siege of Limerick. The treaty really consisted of two treaties, both of which were signed on 3 October 1691. Reputedly they were signed on the Treaty Stone, an irregular block of limestone which once served as a mounting block for horses. This stone is now displayed on a pedestal in Limerick, put there to prevent souvenir hunters from taking pieces of it. Because of the treaty, Limerick is sometimes known as the Treaty City.

After his victory at the Battle of Boyne in July 1690, William III had issued the Declaration of Finglas which offered a pardon to Jacobite soldiers but excluded their senior officers from its provisions. This encouraged the Jacobite leaders to continue fighting and they won a major victory during the 1691 Siege of Limerick. However, defeats the following year at the Battle of Aughrim and the second siege of Limerick left the Williamites victorious. Nonetheless the terms they offered to Jacobite leaders at Limerick were considerably more generous than those a year earlier at Finglas.

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.

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