'There is a chance we may have found the remains of Limerick's Patrick Sarsfield'

THERE'S been a major development in efforts to find and repatriate the remains of Limerick war hero Patrick Sarsfield.

A team led by Dr Loïc Guyon, the honorary consul of France and head of the department of French studies at Mary Immaculate College has for the last number of years been leading efforts to bring the remains of Sarsfield home to the city.

It's believed he currently lies in rest in the Belgian city of Huy.

And during the team's latest visit to the continent, a discovery was made while exploring an area of the site located in what is nowadays the cellar of the townhouse in Huy.

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"For the first time since we began the archaeological excavations last year, I can say that there is a chance that we might have found the remains of Patrick Sarsfield," declared Dr Guyon, pictured at the excavation site below with Dr Gerard Riordan, archaeologist, Aegis Archaeology Ltd, Frank Coyne lead archaeologist and director of Aegis Archaeology Ltd, and Dr Caroline Laforest, forensic anthropolgist, Royal Institute of Natural Sciences.

The team discovered one skeleton which they were able to identify as being a man, believed to have died in his 40s.

Although that man could not be Patrick Sarsfield, as he died in his 30s, another grave next to this contained the upper half of a skeleton which, the excavators said, appears to be that of a "strongly built man".

Sarsfield was known as being tall and well-built.

Sadly, the lower half of the skeleton was unfortunately destroyed during the building of the townhouse in the 20th century.

Now, DNA tests and further assessments are set to give more information on the find.

But lead archaeologist Frank Coyne said: "The features of the skull as well as the size of the deceased, about 1.76 meters both suggest that we are in the presence of a man.”

It's anticipated the test results will not be back for three months, which is why the archaeology team are remaining cautious.

But Dr Guyon said: "It is fair to say that what we found ticks all the boxes of what we are looking for and that the second skeleton could well be that of Sarsfield."

If it is confirmed that the remains found in Huy are indeed those of Patrick Sarsfield, further studies will be carried out.

It would then be hoped a facial reconstruction will be attempted in order to find out how Sarsfield really looked like.

If however it turns out that the remains are not Sarsfield's, the team is determined to carry on excavating the entirety of the site.

Sarsfield is best known for his defence of Limerick against the forces of William of Orange in 1690, in an event known as the Siege of Limerick.

Above: Noah Gaens, University of Leuven taking a tooth from the second skeleton for DNA extraction 

Sarsfield, fighting for King James II, was eventually defeated, however he helped negotiate the famous Treaty of Limerick, which ended the Williamite war in Ireland.

This led to a historical episode known as the Flight of the Wild Geese where he and 12,000 of his men and their families left for France in 1691.

Sarsfield would rise through the ranks of the French military, but lost his life following the Battle of Landen in modern-day Belgium in 1693.

Records indicate he was buried in an unmarked grave in Huy alongside another unnamed French soldier.

Dr Guyon set up the Sarsfield Homecoming Project in 2020 in a bid to repatriate the remains of Limerick's most famous son to his home city.

Excavations have been taking place in Huy for the last number of years.