TheLuttrells.com
Copyright 2001-25 Glenn Luttrell
This page last updated 28 Jul 2025
Close this window to return to previous page
Two Paths For Two Brothers -
Col. Simon Luttrell & Col. Henry Luttrell
of Luttrellstown
Luttrell, Simon (1643–98), Jacobite soldier and governor of Dublin, was one of four sons of Thomas Luttrell of Luttrellstown, Co. Dublin, and his wife Barbara, daughter of William Sedgrave. The Luttrells of Luttrellstown were of Catholic heritage, for almost 100 years, since the time of their ancestor, Sir Thomas Luttrell of Luttrellstown (d. 1545) appears to be loyal to the Church of England and greatly enlarges the Luttrell fortune with gains from the closure of Catholic churches and monasteries*. Simon was the elder brother of Henry Luttrell, with whom he spent some time at the French court.
Both Simon and Henry were educated in France. On his return to Ireland (1672) Simon married Catherine, daughter of Sir Thomas Newcomen, baronet, and succeeded to Luttrellstown and his father's estate at his death (1674). Appointed lord lieutenant of Co. Dublin and a privy councillor by the lord deputy, the earl of Tyrconnell in 1687, he represented Co. Dublin in the 1689 Jacobite parliament and was military governor of the city of Dublin. A staunch adherent of the Stuarts, he raised a regiment of 374 dragoons, prepared Dublin's defences against an awaited assault, and disarmed its protestant inhabitants.
Henry Luttrell (c. 1655 – 22 October 1717) was an Irish army officer known for his service in the Jacobite cause. A career soldier, Luttrell served James II in England until his overthrow in 1688. In Ireland he continued to fight for James, reaching the rank of General in the Irish Army. Henry did not marry until later in life.
Simon Luttrell appears to have suffered from bad health. Writing to the 2nd duke of Ormond in late 1688 he complained that he had been ill for ten years and was threatened with paralysis (Kingston, 89). The duke of Berwick, who was well acquainted with the Luttrells, considered Simon to be ‘of a mild disposition and always appeared to him to be an honest man’ (O'Callaghan, 98).
After the Irish loss at the battle of the Boyne, the Battle of Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 near the village of Aughrim, County Galway.
The battle was one of the bloodiest ever fought in the British Isles. The Jacobite defeat at Aughrim meant the effective end of James's cause in Ireland, although the city of Limerick held out until the autumn of 1691. During this battle, Col. Henry Luttrell, commander of a force of Jacobite cavalry and dragoons defending a weakened flank of the Jacobite defense, ordered his troops to fall back, following a route now known locally as "Luttrell's Pass". Rumours later flew that he had been in the pay of William, although it seems most probable that Col.Henry withdrew as he had little or no infantry support.
Col. Simon was part of a delegation sent to France after the lifting of the first siege of Limerick to call for the removal of Tyrconnell from the viceroyalty. Along with Peter Creagh, catholic bishop of Cork, he prevented his brother Henry and Col. Nicholas Purcell from throwing overboard Major-General Thomas Maxwell, whom they believed hostile to their embassy, which was in any event unsuccessful.
Luttrell remained in France, not returning to Ireland until autumn 1691 when he was on board the French fleet that arrived in Limerick on 28 October, three weeks after the conclusion of the treaty. With the Irish defeat, Simon could have retained Luttrellstown and his other Irish properties by signing a loyalty oath to the victorious Wiliam but he refused to avail himself of the civil articles of Limerick and returned to France. He was given command of an infantry battalion of the newly constituted Jacobite army in France (the “Wild Geese”); he served with distinction under Marshal Catinat in Italy, and also commanded an infantry battalion of 1,000 men for the abortive invasion of England (1692).
During the Siege of Limerick Col. Henry Luttrell was court-martialed for treachery**, having been accused of giving the enemy information about a vital ford on the Shannon. It appears that his family connections - his brother Simon and the fact that members of the Luttrell family had intermarried with their near neighbours, the Lucan Sarsfields- saved his life. Henry pledged his loyalty to William. He was rewarded with the Luttrellstown estate forfeited by his brother Simon. He was later made a major-general in the Dutch army after failing to receive a desired commission in the forces of William III. Henry sought unsuccessfully, by political means, to prevent his sister-in-law from gaining her rightful inheritance when she returned from France after Simon’s death. For this and his other actions, Henry Luttrell had earned the enmity of his countrymen which lasted for generations.
On an evening in the autumn of 1717 as he returned home in his sedan chair from the Lucas Coffee House at Cork Hill en route to his Stafford Street town house Henry Luttrell of Luttrellstown was fatally shot by an unknown assassin.
* In 1536, by an Act of the Irish Parliament, the English crown seized all monastic and church lands in Ireland. These lands were subsequently leased to key figures in the Irish system forming a contractual bond with the Royal House of Tudor that could not easily be broken. By 1540, all monasteries had been closed down and the church lands re-granted to those deemed worthy of royal patronage by the English administration in Dublin Castle. (6)
** During the second siege of Limerick (25 August–24 September 1691) a Williamite trumpeter who had come to treat for prisoners was searched and had in his possession a letter addressed to Luttrell which implied that he was in secret negotiations with the Williamite commander Ginkel. Shocked by the apparent treachery of his right-hand man, Sarsfield took the unusual step of going straight to their adversary, Tyrconnell. The evidence against Luttrell was insubstantial; only five out of fifteen voted against him in a tribunal. Luttrell later received a pension of £500 a year from William III because he brought his cavalry regiment of twelve troops over to the Williamite side.(5)
Taken from
1 - Dictionary of Irish Biography - https://www.dib.ie/biography/luttrell-simon-a4923 )
2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aughrim, incl. Doherty, Richard. "The Battle of Aughrim", Early Modern History (1500–1700), Issue 3 (Autumn 1995), Vol. 3
3 - https://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/big-houses-of-ireland/luttrellstown-castle/the-luttrell-family/the-luttrells- and-the-two/ (A Candle in the Window by Jim Lacey)
4 - https://everything.explained.today/Henry_Luttrell_(Jacobite_commander)/#google_vignette
Henry Luttrell (Jacobite commander) explained5 - https://www.dib.ie/index.php/biography/luttrell-henry-a4921 Luttrell, Henry Contributed by Ó Ciardha, Éamonn
6- http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_houses/hist_hse_finnstown.htm
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
