Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan

Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan

Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ( Irish Pádraig Sáirséal, Iarla Leamhcáin , * around 1650 in Lucan , Ireland , † August 21, 1693 in Huy , Belgium ) was an Irish Jacobite and soldier, who after the siege of Limerick numerous Irish soldiers led into exile in France (" Escape of the Wild Geese "). He is considered a national hero in Ireland.

Life

He was born around 1650 (or 1660) in Lucan, County Dublin , to the Catholic landlord Patrick Sarsfield and Anne, daughter of Rory O'Moore, who organized the Irish Rebellion of 1641 .

As a “younger son” he took up the soldier's profession in 1678, after having trained at a French military school. Early on, he was noticed in the army by participating in duels (1681 against Thomas Gray, 2nd Earl of Stamford, who "dared" to call the Irish liars; in the same year he was wounded as a second in another duel). He served in English regiments in the service of Louis XIV of France, but returned to England after the death of Charles II and the accession of James II. He was following the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685, in the rebellion of James Scott , 1st Duke of Monmouth , against whom King was struck down, promoted to colonel the following year . In the same year he went to Ireland under the command of Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, where, according to the will of the king, he was to help reorganize the Irish army, which was previously led by Protestants, under Catholic leadership.

In 1688 he took over the family property after the death of his older brother William. In the same year he followed Jacob II, who had to give way to William of Orange due to the " Glorious Revolution " , into exile in France and then in 1689 to Ireland. He secured the Jacobite Connacht at the beginning of the "Williamite War" that developed after the landing of the English and was even promoted to major general by Jacob II, although he had doubts about Sarsfield's (intellectual) leadership qualities. But it was only his participation in the Battle of the Boyne and, above all, the capture of a supply transport during the Siege of Limerick in 1690 , which delayed the siege until the winter break, that earned him the recognition of his Irish compatriots. After a year of siege, he negotiated a treaty for free withdrawal (surrender on October 3, 1692, embarkation in Cork on December 22, 1691) and led over 2,600 Irish into exile in France ("Escape of the Wild Geese"), where they mostly in French services entered. To the mockery of an English officer when he left Limerick, he replied: "As low as we now are, change kings and we will fight it over again with you."

Sarsfield himself, named Earl of Lucan by Jacob II in 1691 , became lieutenant general ("maréchal-de-camp") and was so badly wounded in the Battle of Neerwind on August 19, 1693 that he died three days later. During the battle, he was the last remaining commander in chief of the French to make the final attack before a bullet hit him in the chest. Some of his last words were regretfully "Oh that this has been shed for Ireland". He is buried in the cemetery of the Church of Saint Martin in Huy in Belgium .

family

His wife, the beautiful Honora de Burgh (1675–1698) (or de Burgo, Burke), mourned his grave in absolute poverty for two years. The Duke of Berwick , who was traveling through , met the widow there, took her to the court of the Jacobites in St. Germain near Paris, where she caused a sensation during the winter break of 1692, and married her in 1695.

From his marriage on January 9, 1689, Sarsfield had a son James (born 1693), who died as captain of the bodyguard of Philip V of Spain in 1719 at St. Omer without descendants, and a daughter Mary, who was the German adventurer in Spain Theodor von Neuhoff married, but apparently died in childbirth in Paris in 1721 after the birth of a daughter.

The Irish-born Union General Michael Corcoran (1827-1863) claimed to be related to Sarsfield through his mother.

There is a bridge in County Limerick and a city in Ontario / Canada is named after him.

literature

• John Todhunter: Life of Patrick Sarsfield . London, 1895.
• Maurice Hennessy: The wild geese .
• Piers Wauchope: Patrick Sarsfield and the Williamite War . 1992
• Alice Curtayne: Patrick Sarsfield . 1934
• Edwin and Marie Grew: The english court in Exile .

Web links

• Sean Ryan's biography, English
• Raid by Ballyneety, from Sean Ryan's website
• To his wife Honora de Burgo, English
• Sarsfields Rock, Ballyneety

Sources and footnotes

1. ↑ Characterized by an income of 2000 pounds per year, so can be described as "rich".
2. ↑ Williamites were the names of the followers of William of Orange
3. ↑ literally after the French ambassador to the Hague d'Avaux: un fort brave homme, mais qui n'avait point de tete (very courageous, but little understanding)
4. ↑ The Jacobites lost there on July 1, 1690. Jacob II then went back to France.
5. ↑ Performed by Sarsfield with 600 riders on the night of August 10, 1690, guided by a "Rapparee" leader nicknamed "Galloping O'Hogan". Rapparees were called the Irish guerrillas. The attackers learned the password, which was of all things “Sarsfield”, from an unsuspecting wife of a Williamite. A plaque on a rock ("Sarsfield rock") and a well-known hiking trail in County Clare ("Sarsfields ride") commemorates the location of the attack at Ballyneety .
6. ↑ A total of over 11,000 went
7. ↑ The other generals were dead or wounded, the Duke of Berwick captured.

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Earl of Lucan (Jacobite bestowal) 1691–1693	James Sarsfield