The Battle of the Boyne (July 12, 1690) was a famous Irish battle fought in 1690 in the valley of the same name, less than 15 km west of Drogheda. It pitted the army of William III of Orange (Protestant) against his predecessor, the Catholic King James II of England, and had terrible repercussions on Irish history.
1680: England is torn apart by a religious conflict pitting British Catholics against British Protestants. At the time, James II of England reigned over the country, and tried in vain to crush the rise of Protestantism… until William III of Orange, a Protestant, succeeded in dethroning him in 1688, during the Glorious Revolutions.
Unable to fight his way back to the throne of England, James II decided to flee to France. He then met Louis XIV, who provided him with French officers and weapons to reconquer the throne. (Louis XIV did this to gain greater control over England, and at the same time support Catholicism, then threatened by Protestantism).
Jacques II of England headed for Ireland with 7,000 French soldiers, landing at Kinsale in March 1689. He receives the support of the Count of Tyrconnel, who places his army at his disposal. From then on, Jacques II was at the head of a Franco-Jacobite army of over 23,000 highly-trained men with experience of the terrain and the use of weapons. He promptly convened the largely Catholic Parliament to repeal the occupation law installed by the Protestant colonists.
James II led his army into Ulster, where most of the Protestant community lived. But the Protestants held firm to their positions, and in April 1689 James II was unable to take Londonderry or Enniskillen.
James II withdrew from the northern province. William of Orange III, the new King of England, decided to act, and no longer ignore the Irish threat led by James II. He appointed Marshal Schomberg to command an entire army and crush James II’s troops.
In August 1689 Marshal Schomberg landed at Bangor with 20,000 men and, with the help of Ulster troops, pushed the front back to Dundalk. The retreating Irish army headed for Dublin, but no battle was fought and both armies took up their winter quarters.
On June 14, a 36,000-strong army marched on Dublin. Despite some resistance near Newry, James II’s army was pushed back to the banks of the Boyne… It was here that the famous Battle of the Boyne took place.
The charge was given at 4 a.m. on July 12, 1690 on a fordable river crossing near the village of Oldbridge by the infantry. A detachment of cavalry and infantry launched a lightning attack, cutting off any possibility of retreat for the Irish army troops.
At this point, William III’s army outnumbered James II’s by 10,000 men (36,000 Protestants vs. 23,000 for James II).
The end was in sight for the Irish army. Human losses were considerable, and James II was unable to stand up to the British army. The Irish sounded their retreat in the early afternoon, and fled in the direction of Dublin to warn the inhabitants of their defeat, and of the approach of the King of England.
Victorious William III enters Dublin, where he gives thanks for his victory at Christ Church Cathedral. It also honors Marshal Schomberg, commander of operations, who was killed in action during the battle.
For the Irish, this defeat marked the end of their struggle for independence. James II went into exile in France for good, for fear of British reprisals, and Irish Catholics began to suffer discrimination from Protestants.
Most of the surviving Irish soldiers joined European troops, mainly French. These mercenaries are called “Wild Geese”.
Although this battle is a long way off today, it is the source of a conflict that is still raging in Northern Ireland today. The Orangemen (Protestant Loyalists) constantly stir up tensions with the Catholics, and provoke them by commemorating this battle with parades.
This is known as the Orange Parades: Protestants parade through Catholic neighborhoods dressed in orange. The aim: to remind them of their past victory over the Catholics. A parade that creates strong tensions between the 2 camps, and that can quickly degenerate. Fights, molotov cocktails, stone-throwing: clashes generally require supervision by the Northern Irish authorities.
But rest assured: these conflicts are less and less frequent these days. They present no danger to travellers, as long as you don’t venture into these areas during parade periods (usually scheduled on the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, in July).
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