The Battle of the Boyne, one of the most contentious events in British history, is commemorated annually in Northern Ireland on July 12. This day is an Ulster Protestant festival. The Battle of the Boyne was a decisive engagement in the Irish Williamite War. King James II of England and Ireland, who had been deposed, fought against King William III of England and Ireland. King James II was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland, while King William III, also known as William of Orange, was a Dutch Protestant.
The background of Battle of the Boyne
In 1690, King James II, a Catholic, fought Protestant King William III, who had deposed James as King of England in 1688, at the Battle of the Boyne. William won the battle that took place at Old Bridge, across the River Boyne. The battle occurred on July 1, 1690, using the Julian calendar. This corresponded to July 11 on the Gregorian calendar. The symbolic significance of this conflict has made it one of the most famous confrontations in the history of the British Isles and an integral part of the legend of the Orange Order. Today, the Protestant Orange Institution in Northern Ireland primarily remembers this event.
James attempted to reclaim the thrones of England and Scotland after the Immortal Seven invited Mary, James’s daughter and William’s spouse, to ascend to the thrones. It is considered a turning point in the conflict between Catholic and Protestant interests in Ireland.
With the exception of Ulster, they ruled the entirety of Ireland by 1690. The preponderance of James II’s army at the Battle of the Boyne consisted of Irish Catholics. As a result of James II’s 1687 Declaration for the Liberty of Conscience, which guaranteed religious freedom for all faiths in England and Scotland, the majority of Irish people were “Jacobites” and supported him.
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5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BOYNE
Before entering the Irish Sea close to Drogheda, the Boyne River flows for 68 miles.
In 1929, the statue of William of Orange was removed from College Green in Dublin.
The memorial Boyne Obelisk statue, which was constructed in 1736, was razed in 1923.
The River Boyne was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1993.
From its mouth at Lake Charlevoix, the primary stream of the Boyne River extends for 5.6 miles.
BATTLE OF THE BOYNE DATES
Year | Date | Day |
---|---|---|
2023 | July 12 | Wednesday |
2024 | July 12 | Friday |
2025 | July 12 | Saturday |
2026 | July 12 | Sunday |
2027 | July 12 | Monday |