Siege of Limerick

Limerick defied William of Orange in August 1690 because Patrick Sarsfield struck his supplies at night while ordinary citizens fought behind thick stone walls. The king retreated humiliated, but a larger army returned in 1691 to break the weakened city after weeks of hunger and bombardment. Women are said to have dragged wounded men from the streets and thrown boiling water at attackers, keeping the resistance alive until the treaty was written.