The Treaty Stone, Limerick (must see)

Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, was a leader of the Jacobite Army in Ireland from 1688 to 1691. King James II was struggling to regain his throne from his daughter, Mary, and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. James II stayed in France. The Jacobite Army was annihilated at the Battle of Aughrim, and Sarsfield capitulated at Limerick in 1691.

The Treaty of Limerick is said to have been signed on a large rock known today as the Treaty Stone. The terms of the treaty were comparatively liberal. The Jacobite Army was given safe passage to France with their families. Patrick Sarsfield joined them. This diaspora came to be called "The Flight of the Wild Geese."

The Treaty Stone today is located in the heart of Limerick, on the edge of the River Shannon, close to Thomond Bridge. It is but a short walk from either King John's Castle or Saint Mary's Cathedral and a bit of a longer stroll from Thomond Park. The Stone serves as a base reference for the main sights of Limerick center.

In the mid-19th century, the Treaty Stone was located opposite the bridge in front of the current Jack Mondays Coffee Shop. The Stone was worn down by souvenir hunters chipping away at its surface. It was moved to a stepped pedestal near Clancy Strand, designed by civil engineer and architect William Corbett. The pedestal was erected in May 1865 by John Richard Tinsley, mayor of the city.