Following the surrender of Limerick, for many Catholics the choice was stark: to endure exile on the continent, or to remain in Ireland under the government of a victorious yet resentful Protestant minority. Perhaps 12,000 members of the Jacobite army left for France, determined to return and restore their king to the throne. Thousands more snubbed the Jacobite cause and sought to enlist with William's allies in Europe. Some were simply unable to leave, hampered by familial ties or a lack of money. Others firmly resisted the temptation to flee, preferring to retain possession of their land and to enjoy the rights promised to them by the articles of surrender. These were the articlemen, the ‘dastard gentry’ of Catholic Ireland.

The historiography of Catholic Ireland in the 1690s has been dominated by the articles of Limerick; understandably so given their status as the end point of the Williamite war, and the various controversies surrounding their confirmation by the Irish parliament. One of the results of this focus has been to overshadow the importance of the other articles of surrender to the Williamite settlement in Ireland. Articles of surrender were also signed at Drogheda, Waterford, Galway, Inis Boffin and Sligo. The principal advantage of the articles was protection from forfeiture of the estates of those who claimed under them. Claimants to the articles of Galway and Limerick were required to prove their eligibility in specially established courts of claims, which sat in 1692, 1694 and from 1697 to 1699.

The articles of Drogheda, Waterford, Inis Boffin and Sligo are referred to here as minor articles, due to the low numbers known to have received their benefit, relative to Galway and Limerick. The Irish and English governments also devoted a much smaller degree of attention to their interpretation and implementation. These articles were, however, of great importance to the men who claimed their benefit, as each surrender was adjudged to protect the real estates of its claimants. Yet proving eligibility to the articles was merely the first step for the articlemen in ensuring that they received their benefit. Acts of the Irish and English parliaments were required to enshrine the articles in legislation. With three exceptions, these acts were not passed with the intention of confirming the articles.