Oldbridge House visitors uncover the Battle of the Boyne for Heritage Week

A captivated audience discovered what happened at the Battle of the Boyne on the very ground it took place on and learned how archaeologists continue to reveal more about this important milestone in Irish history.

The tour took place at the Battle of the Boyne visitor centre which is located in the restored 18th century Oldbridge House on Wednesday (20th August). The battlesite, parklands, and formal gardens are free to visitors.

The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 was part of a wider power struggle across Europe with Irish, English, Scottish, and French troops taking part. It was fought between King William III and his father-in-law King James II on 12th July as they were rival claimants of the English, Scottish, and Irish thrones and following the protestant King William deposing the catholic King James in 1688.

King James rallied his mostly catholic army of 25,000 ‘Jacobites’ in Ireland on the southern banks of the Boyne against William and his army of 36,000 ‘Williamites’, the largest number of troops ever deployed in Irish history. In the end, the Jacobites lost the battle and went into a fighting retreat and James later to fled to France, leaving his army to fight on for another year before William secured control of Britain and Ireland.

Carly Gallagher, an archaeologist currently working at the site and who grew up in the local area, explained where each part of the battle took place.

The crowd gathered also received an explanation of how archaeologists do their work, from how they use their tools to the way they note down and spread information to others in the field.

Other small details were also on display, such as a painting by Jan Wyck, a Dutch painter at the time, that was meant to be portraying the Battle of the Boyne, but revealed a landscape much more tropical then anything ever seen on our island.

Despite the importance of this battle in Irish history, however, there are very few archaeological artefacts from the site in relation to it. It is especially difficult to discover finds from the site due to the number of items illegally taken from it throughout the years. Numerous cannonballs are allegedly from the battle, one of which is currently viewable above the Oldbridge house entrance, but the only one which is confirmed to be from the time currently resides in a private collection. The Office of Public Works (OPW) are only in possession of six musket balls shot during the battle, one which was displayed on the tour, despite approximately a thousand balls claimed to be from the battle.

What Carly Gallagher found most interesting was “the sheer number of people that were here on the day with it being the largest military deployment that we have seen here in Ireland, the fact that we don’t have that many artefacts related to it to me is really interesting”.

There is a grave which people believe to be related to the deaths of La Caillemotte the Duke of Schomberg who experts say he died from friendly fire, but there is still no concrete evidence of this.

Of the thousands of others who fell, there are theories that they were either thrown down the river Boyne by villagers, buried in a mass grave and burned, or the most interesting one, buried underneath the walled garden near Oldbridge House. This last theory comes from the fact that yew trees grow in the garden which are a symbol of death and archaeologists are yet to investigate this location.

There is still much of the site uncovered, including the walled green and a large Oak tree that was alive 300 years ago when the battle took place. If and when archeologists uncover the secrets of these areas, it is possible we can get a much deeper perspective on the Battle of the Boyne.

Gallagher said the battle site is not the only interesting part of the area as “The house is just as important as it gives us an insight into life in the 18th, 19th, 20th centuries.”

“This is such a huge amenity to have in the Boyne Valley, and I think it is important we get people down to look at it talk with us about it”.