English under the command of the Dutch general Ginkel routed the Jacobites in one of the bloodiest battles in Irish history. One general, three major-generals, seven brigadiers, 22 colonels, 17 lieutenant-colonels, and over 7,000 soldiers were killed (some accounts put the death toll at over 9,000).
In October 1691 the Jacobite commander Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan signed the Treaty of Limerick ending the Williamite War (1688-91) in Ireland.
Following the defeat at Aughrim many of the old aristocracy (including Sarsfield) left the country for service in France in what has become known as the Flight of the Wild Geese.
The hauntingly beautiful tunes Battle of Aughrim and After the Battle of Aughrim commemorate this battle.
Remnants of the Jacobite struggle can still be felt in modern day Ireland in the tension between Catholics and Protestants in the North.
James II became King of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1685. James, a Catholic, immediately began filling army and government posts in Ireland with Catholics. This provoked fears of civil war and led to James being dethroned in what is known as the Glorious Revolution. He was replaced by his son-in-law William of Orange (a Protestant) in 1688.
James fled to France, but continued to have widespread support in Ireland. His deputy, the Earl of Tyrconnell, raised an Irish army to support the Jacobite cause. In 1689 James landed in Ireland with a French army and linked forces with Tyrconnell.
Determined to gain control of the situation, William arrived in Belfast in June 1690 with an army of 36,000 men. At the battle of the Boyne he defeated the Jacobite force of 25,000 Irish and French troops forcing James to flee Ireland. Although the Jacobites were beaten the war dragged on for another year.
In July 1691 near the village of Aughrim the Jacobite army led by Charles Chalmont, faced the main English force again. This time the
Hetzler's Fakebook
a
resource
for
fiddle, banjo,
guitar, mandolin and dulcimer players who want to learn traditional
music.
