Aughrim, a village on the main Galway - Dublin road near Ballinasloe; the name means 'the horse's back', from the shape of one of the low ridges that are a feature of the local landscape.

Aughrim's moment in history was on the 12^th July 1691. The war of William and James had turned in favour of William at the Battle of the Boyne (1690) but the Jacobites were still a force to be reckoned with. Under the command of St. Ruth, a French commander, they prepared a strong position on the higher ground, forcing the enemy to attack across the exposed ground below. Things were favouring the Jacobites until, during the bombardment, a chance ball struck St. Ruth; he died of his wounds in a nearby ring fort (the one nearest the road). His troops lost their heart and retreated to the west; the retreat was guarded by the cavalry under one of the heroes of Irish history, Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan. Eventually they made their ways via Woodford, to Limerick, where they withstood two sieges before negotiating an honourable surrender with William, which is known as the Treaty of Limerick. The troops were given the option of going home or emigrating en masse to join the French army; very many, including Sarsfield, did so, thus providing the French forces with a ready-made Irish Brigade. These emigrant soldiers are known in Irish history as 'The Wild Geese' and are partly responsible for the very many surnames of Irish origin that are common to-day in France, often in the drinks trade!

The Irish Brigade got its belated revenge at the Battle of Fontenoy (1745) where the Brigade had its greatest victory. (A tradition of Irish soldiers joining European armies continued for many years, the principal beneficiaries besides the French being the Austrians and the Spanish.) The Irish Brigade remained a feature of the French forces for some time; its numbers maintained by a flow of new recruits from Ireland. Sarsfield was killed in action at the Battle of London by, coincidently, being struck, like St. Ruth, by cannon fire. A large cross of the Celtic type was erected to mark the site of the Battle, and an interpretive centre has recently been opened. Aughrim, like the Boyne, was a significant battle in European, not just Irish, terms, and helped to turn the course of European history. There is an account of the engagement in The Irish at War, Gerald Hayes - McCoy , 1964.

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