Work to return Patrick Sarsfield's remains to Limerick moves step closer
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Researchers working to return the remains of Patrick Sarsfield to Limerick believe they have identified a key genetic marker which could be used to confirm if remains found in Belgium earlier this year belong to the revolutionary.
Sarsfield, who led the defence of Limerick against William of Orange in 1690, was exiled to France with Jacobite soldiers in 1691. He died in the Belgian city of Huy two years later after being injured while fighting for France.
He was believed to have been buried in a church in the city. Archaeological works began at the church site last December and continued up to last March, led by Frank Coyne of Limerick-based Aegis Archaeology Ltd.
It is now the site of a house, with almost half of the former interior of the church now below the cellar. Honorary Consul Loic Guyon, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of French Studies at Mary Immaculate College, is spearheading the project.
He said: “We’ve made great progress in our exploration of the site and we’ve also made great progress on the genetic side of things by confirming that we have identified what should be a key genetic marker of Patrick Sarsfield’s ancestors.”
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He continued: “However it would be premature to say that we've identified the body since we haven't yet found Sarsfield's remains. We have a potential contender (a skeleton discovered back in March and for which we are still awaiting DNA results) but it would be quite extraordinary if the very first skeleton we uncovered were that of Patrick Sarsfield.
"Time will tell as we should be getting the DNA results in the coming weeks.”
“In the meantime we have continued exploring the site, unveiled five other skeletons (which turned out to be those of three women and two children) and, if the DNA results on the very first skeleton show that it isn't that of Sarsfield, we will resume the archaeological excavations in December,” he said.
It was not possible to establish if the remains found in March were male or female, and a tooth taken from the skeleton has now been sent for DNA analysis.
Only the upper part of the skeleton was found. The lower part is thought to have been destroyed in recent decades during a dig out of an archaeological trench.
If the results, expected within weeks, show that the skeleton was an Irish male, further DNA analysis will then be needed to identify if the skeleton is that of Patrick Sarsfield.