The historical significance of William’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 has been lost in a sea of political point scoring, just as Presbyterianism’s role in saving the Irish language from extinction has been cleverly airbrushed out of modern history by republicanism.
Sections of Irish nationalism and republicanism are quite content to spread the myth that the Orange Order, and the 12 July celebrations, are a sectarian coat training exercise more akin to a Ku Klux Klan event in America’s Deep South.
Earlier this month, Sinn Fein became the largest Northern Ireland party at Westminster by retaining its seven seats in the General Election. In spite of having a military wing, the Provisional IRA, which was responsible for the murder of a number of Westminster MPs during the Troubles, Sinn Fein enjoyed its electoral success as an indirect result of William’s Boyne victory.
Because of that victory on the shores of the River Boyne in 1690, William’s success laid the foundation stones for British Parliamentary democracy which is the envy of many modern Western European nations.
In today’s Northern Ireland, it’s all too easy to dismiss the Twelfth as a ‘Prods only’ event, and then again, only by Protestants who vote or support Unionist parties.
What republicanism wants folk to conveniently forget is the big picture of Europe in the late 17th century. The big bull of the woods was Louis XIV of France, who was that century’s version of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in terms of his expansion plans across Europe.
William’s father in law was James II of England and the former’s military opponent at the Boyne. It was also be able to dismiss the Boyne as an internal family feud as William was married to James’ daughter, Mary.
However, James was Louis’s wee political puppet. Even the pope of the day, Alexander VIII, feared the expansionist plans of the French king. The papacy feared Louis wanted to grab as much papal territory as possible to create the 17th century version of Hitler’s Third Reich.
Indeed, when news reached Rome of William’s victory over James at the Boyne, Alexander ordered a Te Deum be celebrated in honour of the Protestant king’s military bloody nose to Louis.
While there were other significant battles as part of the Williamite campaign in Ireland, such as Aughrim the following year in 1691, it was the Boyne which effectively militarily halted the Louis juggernaut across Europe.
As for the Boyne battle itself, there is the misconception that all of William’s army was Protestant, while James - himself a Catholic - commanded only Catholic troops.
When William landed in Ireland a month before the Boyne showdown, he brought with him his elite troops from Holland - the Dutch Royal Blues, who were predominantly Catholic.
They were William’s ‘special forces’ and one of the first units to cross the River Boyne. It was the actions of the Dutch Royal Blues which militarily sealed victory for the Williamite forces.
Such was the scale of the Williamite victory that day 1 July 1690 (according to the old calendar), that William could easily have captured his rival.
However, because James was his father in law, he allowed the defeated king to escape to Dublin and on to France to seek the protection of dictator Louis.
In Irish history terms, the Boyne (which is located in the Irish Republic with a magnificent visitors’ centre) sealed the direction of what was to become known as the Glorious Revolution.
In guaranteeing a future for modern parliamentary democracy, with William and Mary now on the London throne, the Boyne ensured victory in what was known as the War of English Succession.
William believed passionately in the concept of parliamentary democracy rather than James or Louis to held to the outdated notion of rule by divine right.
In the wider European scene, the Boyne was part of the War of the League of Augsburg with William as the head of a coalition of nations determined to stop Louis roaming militarily across Europe.
Presently, 12 July is only a national holiday in Northern Ireland. But given the significance of the Boyne in Irish, British and European history, there is a real need for it to be recognised as a national holiday right across the entire British Isles of the UK and Eire in much the same was as 4 July, Independence Day, is celebrated across every state in the USA.
The Boyne battle is annually marked in the Republic traditionally on the Saturday before the 12 July when Southern Irish county lodges gather with many from Northern Ireland at Rossnowlagh for the so-called Donegal Dander in the seaside village.
Likewise, the Loyal Orders’ senior order, the Royal Black Institution, hosts the annual Sham Fight in Scarva, at which it is estimated some 100,000 people pack the Co Down village for the parade, platform proceedings, and of course, the re-enactment of the battle.
Before this year’s Twelfth, the Imperial Orange Council of the World held its meeting in Co Fermanagh, emphasising the support which Orangeism has throughout the globe.
This is not a rewriting of history, or even spin revisionism. To make the 12 July a national holiday for all throughout the geographical British Isles would merely be a well-earned recognition of the democratic importance of that military encounter on the banks of the Boyne in 1690.
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Loyalists are like the neo-Confederates in America who believe in "the lost cause." This suggestion from Dr Coulter is like the KKK in America advocating making "Slavery Day" or "Confederate Veterans Day" a national holiday there. LOL. It's also very much like the KKK's own disingenuous 'defense' of themselves as being a southern "cultural" artifact rather than a political one, including the explicit denialism regarding their abominable political history.
ReplyDelete"It's also very much like the KKK's own disingenuous 'defense' of themselves as being a southern "cultural" artifact rather than a political one, including the explicit denialism regarding their abominable political history."
DeleteWait til you hear about everyone else's political history in Ireland and beyond.