17 Facts About Patrick Sarsfield

Originally of English descent, the Patrick Sarsfield family were wealthy Roman Catholic merchants, who settled in Dublin; Sir William Patrick Sarsfield was knighted in 1566, reportedly for providing the Crown financial support during Shane O'Neill's rebellion.

Patrick Sarsfield purchased Lucan Manor, a large estate now a suburb of Dublin, and Tully Commandery in County Kildare.

In 1689, Patrick Sarsfield married the 15-year-old Honora Burke, daughter of William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde; they had one son, James Patrick Sarsfield, 2nd Earl of Lucan.

Catalina Patrick Sarsfield, who styled herself Queen of the brief-lived Kingdom of Corsica, is often cited as Patrick Sarsfield's daughter.

Patrick Sarsfield was in fact a distant cousin; her father David Sarsfield came from another branch of the family, and was killed at the Battle of Villaviciosa in 1710.

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When England left the war in 1674, the Brigade continued to serve in the Rhineland, under Turenne; Patrick Sarsfield transferred into a regiment commanded by Irish Catholic Sir George Hamilton.

Patrick Sarsfield remained in France until the war ended in 1678, then returned to London to join a new regiment being recruited by the Earl of Limerick; he was caught up in the Popish Plot, and like other Catholics barred from serving in the military.

Patrick Sarsfield was promoted brigadier, elected to the 1689 Irish Parliament for Dublin County, and commanded cavalry units in the campaign in Ulster and Connacht.

Patrick Sarsfield headed the "War Party", who felt they could gain more by fighting on; it included the Luttrell brothers, Nicholas Purcell and English Catholic William Dorrington, a former colleague from Monmouth's Regiment.

Patrick Sarsfield cemented his reputation with an attack on the Williamite artillery train at Ballyneety, widely credited with forcing them to abandon the siege of Limerick.

Patrick Sarsfield then bypassed James by asking Louis XIV direct for French support, and requesting the removal of Tyrconnell and the army commander Berwick, James' illegitimate son.

Patrick Sarsfield's role is unclear: one account claims he quarrelled with St Ruth, and was sent to the rear with the cavalry reserves.

Patrick Sarsfield has been criticised for this, having constantly attacked Tyrconnell for advocating the same thing, while it is suggested the Williamite army was weaker than he judged.

Military articles of the Treaty of Limerick preserved the Jacobite army by allowing its remaining troops to enter French service; about 19,000 officers and men, including Patrick Sarsfield, chose to leave in what is known as the Flight of the Wild Geese.

Patrick Sarsfield left few contemporary records, and those that exist are "disconcertingly incomplete".

Patrick Sarsfield has been criticised for the role he played in creating divisions within the Jacobite camp; senior officers considered him rash and easily manipulated, although he seems to have been popular with the rank and file.

Part of the route used for the attack on the Williamite siege train is marked out today as Patrick Sarsfield's Ride, and is a popular walking and cycling route through County Tipperary, County Clare and County Limerick.