12th OF JULY IN BELFAST, PRIDE OF LOYALISM, AND TIME FOR CATHOLICS TO FLEE THE CITY!

12th OF JULY IN BELFAST, PRIDE OF LOYALISM, AND TIME FOR CATHOLICS TO FLEE THE CITY!

I’m assuming people in Ireland won’t need any explanation of the Battle of the Boyne, nor its day of celebration on 12th July each year. But certainly those watching outside Ireland will benefit from a bit of background to a day that is a celebration for some, or a day to go on holiday or lock yourself indoors for others.

A lot of work goes into these videos as you can well see! You can now buy me a pint as a means of appreciation for my work on Naked Ireland, no obligation, obviously – only if you can afford it… I appreciate it. Cheers.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nakedireland

On that note, today we’re actually visiting the site of the Battle of the Boyne, which isn’t in Northern Ireland at all, but is in the Boyne valley, as the name suggests, in county Meath, not far from Drogheda.

In 1690, when the battle was fought, the Boyne Valley was the Kingdom of Ireland, under British Rule. It is now in the Republic of Ireland and we visit the Battle of the Boyne Visitors Centre, a exhibition space that not only is positioned at the site of the original battle, but is housed in an 18th Century Georgian manor.

Now the manor house obviously didn’t exist at the time of the battle, but the Coddington family two of whom fought on the Williamites side during the battle, purchased the Oldbridge Estate in 1724, on which the manor house now sits. Aside from the important significance of this site as a battlefield, this Georgian house is of real architectural significance and has amazing gardens too.

But first the battle that is the subject of such division in the north of Ireland to this day and is so important to loyalist culture.

The protagonists were the Dutch King William of Orange who had been “invited” to take the English & Scottish throne along with his wife Mary in order to defend protestantism. And on the other side the deposed Catholic King James II. Queen Mary II who acceded to the crowns of England and Scotland was both William’s cousin and the daughter of James, so we could see the Battle of the Boyne in the context of one hell of a family argument. But of course it had bigger implications than that. The battle was in fact of huge European significance, but for Ireland, James’ defeat ensured the continued protestant ascendancy

King William, or king Billy as he’s often referred to, had 36,000 troops against the 25,000 assembled by King James, most of which were raw recruits. So in that context I guess it’s not that surprising he got his ass kicked. 1,500 men perished in the battle which lasted for 12 hours. Another confusing and slightly ironic aspect of this battle was the battles wider geopolitical European context. While the phrase ‘Kick the Pope’ is often heard from loyalists on the 12th July, Pope Alexander VIII was actually an ally of William whilst still being a friend to James. The papal states were opposed to France’s Louis XIV bid for European dominance. And so the Pope, whose effigy is burned on bonfires in Northern Ireland on the 11th July was actually on the side of King William.

To give some idea of the international profile of the armies assembled. William’s army comprised troops from many countries. Half were British. Of his infantry, 7,000 where Danish and a further 6,000 were Dutch and they had advanced weaponry for the time. In addition he had a further 3,000 french Huguenot troops.

In James’ corner there were several regiments of French troops, But the majority of his army were Irish Catholics fighting alongside some English and Scots Jacobites. By contrast his infantry were mostly untrained peasants many of whom fought only with farm implements as weapons.

We visit an oak tree which is thought to be the only thing left in there entire site that was present at the time of the battle. That puts it at more than 330 years old. What an amazing tree, and to think what it has witnessed here on this battlefield.