Sixty
guns then opened upon the city directed at Thomond Bridge and
King John's Castle while an English fleet bombarded it from the
river. In mid-September Ginkel ordered the Williamites to begin
constructing a pontoon bridge at Lanahrone across the Shannon.
The following morning the bridge was completed and a party of
Williamites crossed over to secure the far bank. With a foothold
on the north bank of the Shannon the Williamites were now in a
position to invest Limerick on all sides and impose a total blockade.
On
16 September Ginkel again issued a proclamation offering generous
terms to the garrison if they would surrender. The Irish were
given eight days to accept or, "be answerable for the blood
and destruction they draw upon themselves".
Again
Ginckel offered his terms and Sarsfield feared that they would
hand the city over to Ginckel if he continued to refuse. The Irish
had held out for over a month, but now, completely cut off from
the surrounding countryside, and with no sign of further help
arriving from France, the garrison was left with little enthusiasm
for continuing the fight.
Limerick
made one more fight on 23 September. The struggle lasted from
dawn until the afternoon when the Irish drums sounded a parley
in both the Irish and English towns. At last, Sarsfield accepted
Ginkel's terms to the loud cries of anger from the Irish soldiers
and citizens.
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