In a Nutshell

Religious and Secular Power at Stake During Battle of the Boyne

King James II’s religious intolerance, preference for Catholics in a Protestant country and his desire for dictatorial control led to the loss of his throne during the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689. The British Parliament invited William, Prince of Orange, a Dutch-speaking Protestant married to James’ daughter Mary, to be their king.

James wasn’t willing to give up his throne easily. He enlisted the help of his ally, King Louis XIV of France, and they set out to attack William through Ireland. James landed at Kinsale in March of 1689 with French officers and arms and joined the Irish army of the Earl of Tyrconnell, one of James’ Catholic supporters.

In August of 1689, Marshal Schomberg landed at Bangor to fight in Ireland for William. After securing Ulster, the army traveled to Dundalk. James’ army blocked the path to Dublin and no battles occurred over the winter. William himself landed at Carrickfergus on June 14, mustering an army of 36,000 men to start the march to Dublin. After a small amount of resistance at Newry, James’ Jacobite army withdrew to the south bank of the River Boyne.

The Battle of the Boyne was fought on July 1, 1690, near Drogheda. William’s battle plan was to trap James’ army in a pincer move to prevent escape. William sent 10,000 men towards Slane. The bulk of James’ army moved upstream to deal with the threat. Only 6,000 Jacobites were left at Oldbridge to fight 26,000 of William’s troops.

By mid-afternoon, the outnumbered Jacobites were in retreat but no one moved faster than James himself who returned to France before the end of July. William entered Dublin on July 6, giving thanks for his victory at Christ Church Cathedral. Approximately 1,500 soldiers died during the battle.

Today, the Battle of the Boyne is commemorated on July 12 instead of July 1 due to the loss of 11 days when the Greorgian calendar was accepted. On Orange Men’s Day, Protestant Irish march with drums and pipes. The men wear orange sashes, black suits and bowler hats. In addition to Ireland, the celebration is popular in Birmingham, Liverpool and parts of Canada.

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