Calls for Patrick Sarsfield’s remains to be repatriated to Limerick

THERE is Sarsfield barracks, bridge, rock, house, and even a statue to the man, but if you asked many in Limerick who Patrick Sarsfield was they would look at you blankly.

Now a Limerick author has called for the remains of the first Earl of Lucan to be repatriated to Limerick from Belgium. It comes in the wake of news that archeologists are confident of discovering the remains of Red Hugh O’Donnell in Valladollid, Spain.

Denis O’Shaughnessy said it has created nationwide interest.

“O’Donnell was one of the last of the great chieftains of the old Irish Gaelic Order and fled to Spain following the disastrous defeat of the combined Irish / Spanish forces in the Battle of Kinsale in 1601. In the process of trying to secure King Philip III’s backing for a renewed Spanish attempt to renew the conflict, O’Donnell died tragically on his way to Valladolid, where he was buried, and where the exhumation is now taking place,” said Mr O’Shaughnessy.

Calls are being made for the repatriation of the Irishman’s remains and reinterred in Donegal, the county of his birth, he said.   

“The remains of another heroic Irishman, General Patrick Sarsfield, also rests in foreign soil. Earl of Lucan, Defender of Limerick, he fought on the Jacobean side in the fateful Williamite conquest and is best remembered as one of the leaders of the herculean but eventually failed defence of Limerick in the sieges of 1690/91. His daring capture and disruption of the Williamite gun train in Ballyneety, Pallasgreen is the stuff of legend,” said Mr O’Shaughnessy.

Leader of the Wild Geese, the defeated Irish army who declared for France, Sarsfield was fatally wounded fighting for the French in the Battle of Landen in 1693 and legend has it that his dying words were “Oh, that this were for Ireland”. He is buried in the grounds of St Martin's Church in Huy, Belgium, and a plaque on the wall of this church is reputed to mark the approximate location of his grave.

“Hopefully, an archaeological dig will be mounted some day in Belgium to recover the remains and identification of this heroic Irishman. If tradition has it right, his remains will be easily identifiable as the General is reputed to have been six foot five inches, a giant of a man in the 17th century when the average male was five foot five.

“The remains of outstanding Irishmen who died abroad, i.e. Roger Casement and WB Yeats have been repatriated and buried at home with great honour. Hopefully, Sarsfield’s remains, if recovered, will someday be repatriated and possibly be reinterred in the grounds of St Mary’s Cathedral, an area within the city walls that the great General would have thread in his gallant but eventually tragic defence of Limerick,” said Mr O’Shaughnessy.

He is being backed by Larry Creamer, from Knockane, where on August 12, 1690, Sarsfield with the pick of the Irish cavalry succeeded in invading the English camps and destroying the siege train bound for Limerick. The daring feat together with his generosity earned him a special place in Limerick hearts. When the cause of King James was ruined in Ireland, Sarsfield arranged the Treaty of Limerick.

Back in 2013, Mr Creamer said Patrick Sarsfield should be at the centre of The Gathering initiative, describing him as the “most iconic historical figure in Limerick county and city”.

Mr Creamer has backed Mr O’Shaughnessy’s repatriation proposal.

“One hundred per cent I would support it. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if he was repatriated and buried in Limerick – it would be a huge cultural boost. 

“Everything is Sarsfield something in Limerick but at the same time you might struggle to find some people who know the history of it. He is to Limerick like Mozart is to Salzburg. 

“What he was involved in wasn’t a local thing or an even Irish one, it was a continental war between King Louis XIV and the House of Orange in Holland,” said Mr Creamer, when contacted by the Leader. He is very independent as he describes himself as a “Tipperary Knockane man”.

If Patrick Sarsfield is repatriated there will be a lot of debate over where he would be buried. In 2016, there was heated debate over proposals to relocate the Patrick Sarsfield memorial at a council meeting.

Former mayor, John Gilligan’s call to move the statue from Cathedral Place to John’s Square was met with both opposition and support from a number of city councillors. He said that the statue, which was built in 1881, has been “hidden” from the public for 135 years. He said that when it first came to Limerick, the council “was full of unionists” and that they “didn’t want anything to do with it”.