History of Sorts

Loïc Guyon originates from the South-East of France and has been residing in Ireland since 2002. 9, he was appointed as Head of the Department of French Studies of Mary Immaculate College (University of Limerick). A former President of the Irish Association for French & Francophone Studies (ADEFFI) and former President of the Irish Association of the Members of the Order of Academic Palms (AMOPA Ireland), He is a Knight in the National Order of Merit and a Knight in the Order of Academic Palms. He was appointed as Honorary Consul of France in Limerick on 28 May 2019. In 2020, he launched and has been leading since the Sarsfield Homecoming Project, a research project aimed at locating and repatriating to Ireland the remains of the Irish hero Patrick Sarsfield who died in the service of France in 1693.
We talked about his work as Honorary Consul of France in Limerick and the Midwest, and about thee Sarsfield Homecoming project.
Patrick Sarsfield (c. 1655–1693) was an Irish military leader and prominent figure in the Jacobite cause during the Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a Catholic family, he initially served in the English and French armies. Sarsfield became a key commander for King James II after James was deposed and sought to reclaim his throne. He is best known for his defense of Limerick during the 1690-91 sieges and his daring raid at Ballyneety, which delayed William III’s forces. Despite his efforts, the war ended in defeat for the Jacobites, and Sarsfield was instrumental in negotiating the Treaty of Limerick in 1691. Afterward, he went into exile with the Irish “Wild Geese” in France, where he continued serving as a general in the French army before dying from wounds sustained at the Battle of Landen in 1693. Sarsfield is remembered as a symbol of Irish resistance and loyalty to the Jacobite cause.