Battle of the Boyne (Old Style)

Battle of the Boyne; the Jacobite forces (Irish, French, Germans and Walloons) are defeated by the Williamites (Irish, English, Dutch, Germans and Danes). The Williamite victory, being seen as a defeat for Louis XIV, is welcomed by Pope Alexander VIII

The Battle of the Boyne took place on July 1, 1690 (Old Style) / July 12 (New Style) near Drogheda, on the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland. It was fought between the forces of the Protestant King William III of Orange and the deposed Catholic King James II, who was attempting to regain the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland with French and Irish support.

William’s army — made up of English, Dutch, Danish, and Ulster Protestant forces — decisively defeated James’s mostly Irish Catholic troops, marking a turning point in the Williamite War in Ireland. The battle solidified Protestant control in Ireland and helped secure William’s rule over the British Isles.

The event is commemorated annually on July 12 by many in the Unionist and Loyalist traditions in Northern Ireland, particularly members of the Orange Order.