Unknown Artist, England, 17th century
, British
Title
Portrait of Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan (d.1693)Date17th century
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
76 x 63 cm
Credit LineBequeathed, 1979
Object numberNGI.4328
DescriptionBorn into an Anglo-Irish family loyal to the English crown, Sarsfield served as a Life Guard with James II. Popular with his own troops, he cleared Connaught of King William's supporters, and after the disastrous defeat at Aughrim and the death of St Ruth, he gathered the Irish troops and retreated to Limerick. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Irish army after the death of the Duke of Tyrconnell, and negotiated the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, under which the Irish were forced to choose between submitting to King William and exile or confiscation of land. Sarsfield, like 19,000 of his soldiers, chose the latter. He died in the battle of Lunden in the Netherlands in 1693.