Researchers looking for the remains of Patrick Sarsfield, one of the great tragic figures of Irish history, have found a skeleton in Belgium which they believe may be him.
Sarsfield was one of the Wild Geese who fled Ireland after the defeat of King James II in the Williamite Wars by King William III.
He is best known for his defence of Limerick in 1690 after the Battle of the Boyne. He was finally defeated in 1691, but negotiated a treaty to keep the remnants of the Jacobite army together.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Limerick, Sarsfield and 15,000 Jacobite soldiers and their families left for France never to return.
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Sarsfield was killed in the service of the French king Louis XIV at the Battle of Landen, which took place on July 29th, 1693 during the Nine Years War. He died some days later of his wounds.
In 2022, after nearly two years of research, Dr Loïc Guyon was able to determine based on historical records that Sarsfield was most likely one of two anonymous French officers who were buried in August 1693 in the church of Saint-Martin d’Outre-Meuse in Huy, Belgium, some 35km south of Landen.
Two skeletons have now been recovered from the site. One cannot be Sarsfield as the individual involved was less than five foot tall (1.5 metres) and was more than 40.
The other skeleton, though, is an individual who was about 1.76 metres (5ft 8 ins) and in his 30s.
“While we have to remain cautious until we get the results of the radiocarbon dating and of the DNA test carried out by Noah Gaens from the university of Leuven, it is fair to say that what we found ticks all the boxes of what we are looking for and that the second skeleton could well be that of Sarsfield,” said Dr Guyon.
Test results will be known in about three months.
If it is confirmed that the remains found in Huy are those of Patrick Sarsfield, further tests and analysis will be carried out. A facial reconstruction could be attempted to find out how Sarsfield looked.
If, however, it turns out the remains are not Sarsfield’s, the team is determined to carry on excavating the entirety of the site despite the logistical and administrative challenges that such an endeavour would entail.
If the skeleton is identified as Sarsfield, it is hoped his remains will be repatriated back to Ireland.
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