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Untitled Article
was intrusted of forcing the passage by the Castle of Auffhrim . The pass at Aughrim did not admit more than , two horses abreast , keeping as close as possible to the castle wall . St . Ruth had seen it ; but thought it impassable for cavalry . He might easily have made it so , if he had not again fallen into an error similar to that he had so deliberately committed at Athlone , in
considering that to be impossible which was , nevertheless , accomplished by British troops . He had , however , taken the precaution to erect a battery , which commanded the pass . Through the fire of this battery , and of some batallions of infantry , Talmash was now making his way , at the head of the British horse . The pass was not only narrow but broken , and encumbered with the rubbish of the castle wall .
" St . Ruth beheld the attempt of the cavalry with astonishment , but could not comprehend what it meant . He asked his French officers , but they could not explain the movement . His Irish officers , better acquainted with what British troops could do , replied , that the cavalry were forcing their way to the support of the infantry in the centre . * They are brave fellows , ' said St . Ruth ; 'it is a pity they should be so exposed . ' Saying this , he sent orders to the Irish horse to move forward , and prepare to charge the British cavalry ; and proceeded himself down the hill , at the head of his officers , to direct the
gunners at the battery how to point their fire . " The battle rested upon the charge of cavalry that had been ordered ; and there was little reason to doubt what the result would have been if it had been made . The English cavalry , though a considerable body had passed the Castle , were still not half the number of the squadrons tfyat were moving against them . They were also in great disorder from the desperate and perilous effort they had made , and had suffered not a little from the fire of the battery through which they passed . Added to this , William ' s cavalry had
never stood the charge of the Irish , even where the numbers were equal . St . Ruth admired the gallantry of Talmash and his horse , but he knew that they were lost men . And they were so , no doubt , if he had not been lost himself . He had reached the battery , and was giving directions to the gunner how to point his guns , when he was struck by a cannon ball and killed . He stood in the midst of a crowd , and no man was hurt but himself . His death was
instantaneous . There was but this one man , of the many thousands who swarmed that day upon the hill of Kilcomoden , whose death could have saved the British army , and he was slain . The event , if it were mere chance , was a remarkable one . An aid-de-camp threw a cloak over St . Ruth ' s body , and it was conveyed up the hill , and carried to the rear . " —Pp . 279—281 . Mr . O'Driseol gives a very particular account of the siege and capitulation of Limerick , and seems to render it beyond doubt that the terms of that treaty have been shamefully violated . The continuation of this History
would be very desirable , but the promotion which Mr . O'Driscol has attained renders it unlikely that he will be able to effect it , and it would be more difficult to continue this in the same style and manner than it would have been to write an original work on the same subject . In conclusion we think that Mr , O'DriscoPs work gives us as much , or even more than is desirable to be known of Irish history ; and without wishing to conceal that it has some defects , we strongly recommend it to the perusal of all who wish for information on the subject .
Untitled Article
260 Review : —O'Dmcol ' s History of Ireland .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1828, page 260, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2559/page/44/
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