Siege of Derry

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For context see the Williamite War in Ireland and Jacobitism.

 
Williamite War in Ireland

The Siege of Derry, took place in northern Ireland during 1688–1689.

In the Glorious Revolution of 1688, King James II of England (James VII of Scotland), a Roman Catholic convert, was ousted from power by his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange.

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, who was acting as King James' Viceroy in Ireland, was anxious to ensure that all strong points in the country were held by garrisons completely loyal to King James.

Michael Browning Memorial Plaque
Michael Browning Memorial Plaque

By November 1688, the walled city of Derry was the one of two garrisons in Ireland whose garrison was not completely loyal to James II, the other being Enniskillen. The Earl of Antrim was ordered to replace it with a more reliable force. Alexander MacDonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim, despite his age of 76, responded to this command, but wasted valuable time (several weeks) searching for men who were six feet tall or more. An army of around 1,200 men, mostly "Redshanks" (Highlanders) set out for the city several weeks later.

History recounts that 14 apprentice boys seized the city keys and locked the gates while the approaching army was within shouting distance. Whatever happened, on 7 December 1688 the Catholic army found the city gates locked, and the siege began. A policy of 'no surrender' was confirmed by the city's mayor.

On 10 December, King James fled London. He was caught, but escaped a second time on 23 December and made his way to France. James' first cousin, King Louis XIV of France, gave him support to retain his crown. In London on 13 February 1689, a gathering of English politicians calling itself a "Convention," but acting as a Parliament [1], declared that King James had abdicated by trying to flee on 10 December and offered the Crown of England jointly to both William and to Mary. The couple was then proclaimed King William III and Queen Mary II.

Cannon on the Walls of Derry
Cannon on the Walls of Derry

On 11 April a Scottish Convention met and concluded that James had forfeited the Crown, and proclaimed William and Mary to be king and queen of Scotland. On the same day, William and Mary were crowned jointly in Westminster Abbey by the Bishop of London. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York continued to recognise James as King of England and Scotland.

On March 12, 1689, James landed in Kinsale, Ireland, with 6000 French soldiers. He took Dublin and marched north with a Jacobite army of Irish Catholics and Frenchmen. The army arrived at Derry on 18 April 1689 and summoned the city to surrender. James was rebuffed, and some of the city's defenders fired at him. The siege began in earnest, and for 105 days the city suffered appalling conditions. Cannonballs and mortar-bombs rained down, and famine and disease took their toll.

The Governor of the City, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Lundy, favoured a concession to James, writing on the 15th of April that "without an immediate supply of money and provisions this place must fall very soon into the enemy's hands." Lundy called a meeting with several of his most loyal supporters to discuss surrender. News of the meeting spread, enraging the citizens. After several weeks of guarding himself day and night for fear of his safety, Lundy fled the city under cover of darkness by climbing down a pear tree that grew against the city wall. The city's defence was retaken up under the direction of Major Henry Baker and Colonel Adam Murray, along with the Rev. George Walker, who also held the rank of major, under the slogan "No Surrender".

British warships under Percy Kirke arrived off Derry on 11 June 1689 but refused to risk shore guns. Another 47 days later, under the orders of the Dutch Marshal Frederic Schomberg, three armed merchant ships called the Mountjoy, Phoenix and Jerusalem sailed up the River Foyle, protected by the frigate HMS Dartmouth under Captain (and future Admiral) John Leake. The 'Mountjoy', rammed and broke the barricading boom at Culmore Fort, which had been stretched across the river and relieved the siege on July 28 1689.

The city had endured 105 days of siege during which some 4000 people (apparently about half the population) were said to have died.

The siege is commemorated annually by the Apprentice Boys of Derry who stage the week long Maiden City Festival culminating in a parade around the walls of the city by local members, followed by a parade of the city by the full Association. Although violence has attended these parades in the past, those in recent years have been largely peaceful.

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