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The Williamite war in Ireland which could also be described as the Jacobite war in Ireland was the opening conflict following the deposition of James VII of Scotland and II of England in 1688 when he attempted to regain the throne from his daughter Mary II who replaced him jointly with her husband William of Orange. It influenced the Jacobite Rising in Scotland led by "Bonnie Dundee" which started at about the same time. While William successfully defeated Jacobitism in Ireland and subsequent Jacobite Risings were confined to Scotland and England, the Siege of Londonderry and the Battle of the Boyne were to have a lasting effect on Ireland.

Under James VII and II his viceroy Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell took action to ensure that all strong points in Ireland were held by garrisons loyal to the Catholic cause. By November 1688, only the walled city of Londonderry had a Protestant garrison. An army of around 1,200 men, mostly "Redshanks" (Highlanders), under Alexander Macdonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim , was slowly organised (they set out on the week William of Orange landed in England). When they arrived on December 7th 1688 the gates were closed against them and the Siege of Londonderry began.

When James was deposed and fled to France, King Louis XIV of France (already at warThe War of the Grand Alliance (also known as the War of the League of Augsburg the War of the English Succession and the Nine Years War was a major war fought in Europe and America from 1688 to 1697, between France and the League of Augsburg (which, by 16 with William of Orange) gave him support to regain his crown. On March 12th 1689Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir " allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. January 11 The Parliament of England declares King James II of England deposed. February 13 William III and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of Engla James landed in KinsaleKinsale ( Irish: Cionn tSaile is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located south of Cork City on the coast near The Old Head of Kinsale. See also: List of towns in the Republic of Ireland Towns in Cork., Ireland, with 6,000 French soldiers. He took DublinThis article is about the city in Ireland. For other uses of the name, see Dublin (disambiguation). Dublin ( Irish: Baile Atha Cliath is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mou and with a Jacobite army of Catholics, Protestant Royalists and French marched north, joining the Siege of Londonderry on April 18th 1689. James had found himself leading a predominantly Catholic nationalist movement, and on 7th May he reluctantly agreed to the Irish Parliament's demand for an Act declaring that the Parliament of England had no right to pass laws for Ireland. British warships arrived off Londonderry on June 11th, but refused to risk shore guns until, ordered by Schomberg, they broke through and relieved the siege on July 28th 1689. Meanwhile, armed Williamite civilians from Enniskillen were carrying out raids, and a Jacobite army which advanced on them from Dublin on July 28th 1689 was defeated. Soon afterwards most of Ulster was cleared of Jacobites.

On August 13th 1689 William's army under Marshal Frederic Schomberg landed at Ballyholme Bay in County Down and after capturing Carrickfergus marched unopposed to Dundalk where the soldiers were ravaged by fever. James's viceroy Tyrconnell raised an army to make a stand, but there was no battle and the two armies withdrew to winter quarters.

William decided to take charge in person and arrived with a fleet of 300 ships at Belfast Lough on 14 June 1690. He landed at Carrickfergus and mustered an army of 36,000 soldiers (including English, German, Dutch, Danish and French Huguenot troops) which marched towards Dublin. After some resistance near Newry the Jacobites withdrew to the south bank of the River Boyne, and on July 1st were defeated in a skirmish at the Battle of the Boyne. The Jacobite army retreated, little damaged, while James rode ahead of them to Dublin and returned to France. News of this defeat contributed to the Scottish Jacobites abandoning their struggle.

The war continued until the Dutch general Ginkel inflicted a heavy defeat on the Irish at the Battle of Aughrim and the siege of Limerick ended with Irish surrender on September 23rd 1691. The peace Treaty of Limerick signed on 3rd October 1691 offered generous terms to Jacobites willing to stay in Ireland and give an oath of loyalty to William III, though subsequent penal laws reinforced Protestant ascendancy and led to accusations of breach of faith. Part of the treaty required the Irish army to leave Ireland for France, the " Flight of the Wild Geese" which led to the setting up of the Irish Brigade serving the French army who were to provide forces assisting The 'Forty-Five Jacobite Rising in Scotland.