Siege of Limerick

Limerick defied William of Orange in 1690 because Patrick Sarsfield struck at his supplies while citizens and French officers held the thick Shannon walls. The king retreated humiliated, but a larger army returned in 1691 and broke through after weeks of hunger and bombardment. Women and soldiers kept fighting street by street until the Treaty of Limerick let many leave for France, carrying Irish bravery into foreign armies.