Conway Mill Trust

On October 3, 1691 the Treaty of Limerick was signed, ending the Williamite War in Ireland. Under terms of the treaty, Patrick Sarsfield and his men would be allowed to leave the city and those who wished would be transported to Europe at England’s expense. In addition, Catholics were promised near-equality with the English occupiers. Sarsfield honored the treaty, but the Parliament did not. Instead the infamous Penal Laws were passed, forcing the native Irish into over 100 years of poverty and deprivation and causing the best members of each succeeding generation to seek their fortunes elsewhere. They became known as “The Wild Geese.”