Battle-hardened veterans laying our ghosts to rest
The opening of the new Battle of the Boyne site marks a last date for the political old guard, says Jerome Reilly
IT began as a cultural adornment of the Good Friday Agreement amid the hard politics of decommissioning, North South bodies and the creation of the Assembly.
But the pledge to develop and enhance the historic site of the Battle of the Boyne to demonstrate respect for multiple traditions has been kept.
Over the 10 years since the Agreement was signed, the project has taken on a deeper cultural and political significance.
On Tuesday, in a ceremony rich in symbolism, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Northern Ireland First Minister Dr Ian Paisley will use original 17th-century dragoon and cavalry officers' swords to cut the ribbon to officially open the new visitor centre.
This event will take place almost one year on from the historic occasion when Mr Ahern first welcomed Dr Paisley to the site of the battle when the First Minister presented the Taoiseach with a musket used by one of King James's troops in 1690.
For his part, Mr Ahern presented Dr Paisley and his wife Eileen with a walnut bowl carved from a tree that had grown on the site of the battle, to mark their 50th wedding anniversary.
Who would have believed that, one year on, this week's meeting by the banks of the Boyne will close the circle on the leadership of Bertie Ahern whose role in the peace process will remain an enduring legacy? Less than 24 hours later, Mr Ahern will go to the Aras to resign.
Nor could it have been predicted that for Dr Paisley the opening of the new Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre will be a final function in the Republic as First Minister before he also steps back from public life -- probably on June 2.
And so, on the rolling lands where 1500 men died on July 1, 1690 (or July 11 according to our modern calendar), both men will use their final summit to acknowledge the significance of the battle where 60,000 fought -- the largest number of troops ever deployed on an Irish battlefield.
English, Scottish, Irish Dutch, Danish and Huguenots (French Protestants) made up the army of King William III. On the other side, marshalled by William's father-in-law, King James II, the Jacobite army was made up mainly of Irish Catholics, reinforced by 6,500 French troops sent by King Louis XIV.
At stake was the British throne, French dominance in Europe and religious power in Ireland.
In front of the new visitor centre lies the battlefield where the Jacobites took up defensive positions south of the river, their cannons targeted towards the Boyne. But the entire battle took place over a wide area, stretching, more or less, from Slane to Drogheda.
The Williamites gathered their forces on the northern side of the Boyne. There was a fearsome artillery bombardment before the Williamites embarked on a partial flanking movement sending 10,000 troops upstream towards Slane.
King James responded by sending the bulk of his army to meet the challenge on his flank leaving his force at Oldbridge depleted. With just 6,000 men left at his disposal he was unable to resist the main Williamite attack of some 26,000 that came across the river at low tide.
William's planned pincer movement failed to trap the outnumbered and by-now -retreating Jacobite forces, who crossed the River Nanny at Duleek and then regrouped west of the Shannon to carry on the war.
The original house where the new visitor centre is located was built by the Coddington family 50 years after the battle. The Coddingtons
bought the lands at Oldbridge from the Earl of Drogheda and the house they built was extended and re-modelled in the Victorian period, though it later fell into disrepair and saw one of its wings damaged by fire.
Now it has been fully refurbished by the Office of Public Works with Eugene Keane as project director who last week was overseeing the last-minute rush to have the work completed on time.
The new facilities include the centre in Oldbridge House with exhibitions using maps, models, graphics and multi-media to depict the historic battle.
One fascinating exhibit is a topographical 3-D model of the battlefield which shows the armies' positions, strategies and river crossings. A laser show is projected onto the model depicting the sequence of military movements.
There is also a display of full-scale replica 17th-century artillery and other military equipment outside, while an adjoining stable block has been refurbished with audio-visual facilities creating a mini-theatre as well as new tea rooms and the continuing restoration of walled gardens.
It's a stunning piece of work, and will become one of the biggest visitor attractions in the north east, attracting 100,000 visitors a year.
During Tuesday's ceremony, Mr Ahern and Mr Paisley will watch historic cavalry drills, musket firing volley and cannon firing.
The sound of artillery will form a fitting farewell salute to both men on the site of a battle which continues to have a strong resonance on this island more than 300 years after the last musket was fired.
- Jerome Reilly
