Page 240 - Demo

240 Stephen Dunford: The Journey of The IrIsh
There were now two Kings on Irish soil about to do battle. One was a trained military man, a brave and able general, the other was neither trained, brave, nor able. The war that followed is called in Irish ‘Cogadh an Dá Rí’ ‘the War of the Two Kings,’ Rí Séamus and Rí Liam-‘King James and King William’-the conflict would become a major crisis in our history.
When news of William’s landing and his subsequent speedy southward advance was confirmed, James was close by Dundalk, and much against the advice of his best officers, he began moving north on Ulster. But, on William’s rapid approach, James hastily reverted to defensive action and took up a position near Oldcastle on the southern banks of the river Boyne, throwing up earthworks to make attack more difficult. The Williamites encamped near to the Jacobite positions on the northern bank. On the morning 1 July, William’s troops attempted to cross the river, the passage of which the Jacobites were ready to defend. The ensuing engagement ranks as one of the great events of Irish history. I must point out here that 1 July was the old calendar style. Under the reformed calendar the true date was 12 July.
Battle of the Boyne between James II and William III, 12 July 1690, Jan Van Huchtenburg
Claims that the battle since known as the ‘Battle of the Boyne’ was simply an affair of indisciplined Irish volunteers and raw levies pitted against disciplined ranks of trained mus- keteers and cavalry, could not be further from the truth. Yes, it’s true to say that the Jacobites
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