The first battle of the boyne is mentioned in the Tain Bo Cualigne and it involved the shamed King of Ulster marching on Tara after Queen Maeve stole his prize bull. Legend has it that Rossnaree Ford is where the main confrontation took place. This makes sense. In the age before maps and roads, people used the landscape features to mark out boundaries, and the Boyne has always divided the North and South in Ireland. The King of Tara lost his head here, courtesy of some fancy spear work from Cu Chulainn who ran across the ford to win the battle.
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| Williamites vs Jacobites |
Jump ahead 2000 years and you have another army marching on the south from Ulster. This battle in 1690 involved soldiers from all over Europe. It was fought between William and his father-in-law James for control of Europe. It was the largest battle ever fought on Irish soil and the fields around here still throw up military artifacts. Instead of spears, this time they used muskets and cannons. In this hot weather, with the water levels extremely low, you can see how General Schomberg would have chosen this spot to cross and flank the Jacobite troops. They met at a boggy ravine at Sheepgrange and stood facing each other, unable to advance. Meanwhile William took his chance and crossed at Oldbridge. This was the last time that kings faced each other on the battle field. After that they left it to the poor soldiers to do the fighting on their behalf.
In the afternoon, we had another medieval river tour of Trim. After a quick walk around the deserted ruins of SS Peter & Paul we hopped back into the kayaks and finished off at the Priory of St John the Baptist. This 13th century hospital had its main keep added later as a private residence. After the Battle of the Boyne, King William confiscated the building and granted it to one of his soldiers. This was common practise throughout the valley and it had a big impact on land ownership. In this case, the soldier did not stay. It is recorded that he spent one night in the residence and had such nightmares that he left the very next day. Hopefully our tourist amenities are a bit more welcoming nowadays.
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| Hospital of St John the Baptist, Newtown |
Finally, we got suited and booted for the late afternoons activities. We had a paintball battle starting at our new course in the centre of the town. After all that talk of ancient history we were in the mood for a bit of action and there is nothing like running about the place shooting at each other with paint pellets to get a full understanding of historical warfare.
Who won this battle? Like most battles, it depends who you ask. It is still being disputed in a beer garden somewhere.
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| History being made |
