Hand of peace at 300-year-old killing fields
History made for a second time
Mr Ahern and Dr Paisley use swords to perform the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Battle of the Boyne interpretative centre
IT could have all turned out so differently.
As Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley -- the heads of tribes from north and south -- met at the Boyne yesterday, their eyes must have roamed over the 500 acres of Co Meath countryside and pondered how old battles can redefine history.
It was the perfect place for a final act of reconciliation as both men crossed swords -- albeit 17th century antique weapons -- to slice open the ribbon on an interpretive centre at the site of the Battle of the Boyne.
A multitude of traditions -- nationalist, unionist, loyalist, Catholic and Protestant -- collided once again yesterday, centuries after the echo of gunfire and anguished screams last reverberated around the Oldbridge estate, close to Drogheda.
There, more than 300 years ago, raged one of the most famous battles in Irish history -- and a collision between Catholics and Protestants which changed the face of Europe.
On July 1, 1690 -- or July 11 on the modern calendar -- Catholic King James II, who had lost the throne of England, squared up to his nephew King William III, known as William of Orange.
William's 36,000 men, the Williamites, were made up of English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Danes and Huguenots, while the 25,000 Jacobites were mainly Irish Catholics, reinforced by 6,500 troops sent from France.
The two camps faced each other across the water.
The Williamites deployed their battle tactics using a pincer movement to draw most of the Jacobites upstream, leaving just 6,000 behind to cope with a force of 26,000 Williamites.
The outnumbered Jacobites were forced to retreat in the face of the victorious Williamites.
There were many wider factors outside the boundaries of our small island being played out on the banks of the Boyne. The face of Europe was also being twisted and redefined at the bend of the river.
If the Jacobites, aided by King Louis XIV's French troops, had succeeded in reinforcing French dominance in Europe, our Taoiseach may have addressed last week's historic meeting of the Joint Houses of the US Congress through French.
As Bertie said in his Capitol Hill speech:
"It was not just an Irish battle. It was part of a wider European struggle of power, of politics and of religion."
- Louise Hogan
