The council and lords justices, who were aghast at the proclamation, which threatened to destroy their hopes of dividing among themselves and their friends all the lands of the Catholics of Ireland, did their best to prevent its acceptance, by spreading rumours that it was a mere bait, and that its promises would not be fulfilled; while Saint Ruth and his French officers did their best, also, to set the Irish against it.

Saint Ruth, who was really a good officer, was conscious that, so far from having gained credit, as he had expected from a command in Ireland, the misfortunes which had happened were entirely attributed to him, and he longed for an opportunity of wiping out the slur on his military reputation.  He therefore urged upon the Irish generals that Ginckle had indeed gained but little; that all the hopes of William rested upon that army alone; and that, with its defeat, they could demand and obtain any terms they liked to lay down; besides which, he was able to assure them, by his advices from France, that Louis was making preparations for assisting them on a vastly larger scale than he had previously done.  Thus, from a combination of circumstances, the proclamation elicited no response.

While the siege of Athlone was being carried on, the main body of Sarsfield’s cavalry remained, for the most part, in the camp near the town; but commanders of small bodies of men, like the corps of Captain Davenant, which were regarded as irregulars, had liberty of action.  Some made long raids to the east, and often spread confusion and dismay among the enemy, by appearing suddenly when no Irish troops were believed to be within a hundred miles.  Some went down and joined the peasants, who were keeping up desultory fighting in the neighbourhood of Cork, harassing the English whenever they moved from one point to another, or sent out parties to collect forage or provisions.

Captain Davenant, who had more than once respectfully urged upon Sarsfield the immense benefit which would result, were the whole of the Irish cavalry to place themselves upon the line of the enemy’s communication, finding that the Irish general was unmoved by his arguments, several times endeavoured to carry out his ideas, as far as could be done with his own small force.

The inactivity of the Irish horse, throughout the long sieges of Athlone and Limerick, except only upon the occasion of the raid upon the siege train, is almost inexplicable.  They had nothing to fear from the enemy’s cavalry, to whom they proved themselves immensely superior, whenever they met during the war, and they had it in their power, for months, to cut the British communications and so oblige them, either to detach so large a force to keep the roads open that they would have been unable to push on the siege, and would indeed have been in danger of being attacked and destroyed by the Irish infantry; or to raise the siege, and fall back upon their bases, Dublin and Waterford.