The Protestant war cry of 'No Surrender!' was first used in 1689 by the Mayor of Londonderry as James II's army laid siege to the city for 105 days, during which half the city's population died. There were many acts of courage, from the heroic death of Captain Browning to the anonymous, apprentice boys who played signal roles in the defence of the city. The book examines how the Jacobites might have achieved success, and the far reaching impact of the siege as a crucial event in the second British civil war. This is a military study of one of the most iconic episodes in Irish history, based on contemporary accounts, official records of the day, and published works on the siege. With an understanding of seventeenth-century warfare, especially siegecraft, the author probes many of the myths that have grown up around the siege and sets it in its proper context. Its ramifications for the consequent history of Ireland cannot be over emphasised.

General Percy Kirke (c. 1647-91) is remembered in Somerset as a cruel, vicious thug who deluged the region in blood after the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. He is equally notorious in Northern Ireland. Appointed to command the expedition to raise the Siege of Londonderry in 1689, his assumed treachery nearly resulted in the city's fall and he was made to look ridiculous when the blockade was eventually lifted by a few sailors in a rowing boat. Yet Kirke was closely involved in some of the most important events in British and Irish history. He served as the last governor of the colony of Tangier; played a central role in facilitating the Glorious Revolution of 1688; and fought in the majority of the principal actions and campaigns undertaken by the newly-formed standing armies in England, Ireland and Scotland, especially the Battle of the Boyne and the first Siege of Limerick in 1689. With the aid of his own earlier work in the field, additional primary sources and a recently-rediscovered letter book, John Childs looks beyond the fictionalisation of Kirke, most notably by R. D. Blackmore in Lorna Doone, to investigate the historical reality of his career, character, professional competence, politics and religion. As well as offering fresh, detailed narratives of such episodes as Monmouth's Rebellion, the conspiracies in 1688 and the Siege of Londonderry, this pioneering biography also presents insights into contemporary military personnel, patronage, cliques and procedures.

The Families of French of Belturbet and Nixon of Fermanagh, And Their Descendants by Henry Biddall Swanzy, first published in 1908, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

Explores loyalism as a social and political force in eighteenth and nineteenth century British colonies and former colonies.