Mililtary Heritage Tours

THE WILLIAMITE TRAIL
Photos
The Battle of the Boyne 1690 is the most iconic battle of the Williamite campaign in Ireland and of Loyalism to this day. It is celebrated annualy by many Loyalists in Ireland, mainly in Northern Ireland. It is seen as being the ultimate defeat of Catholic King James by Protestant King William and the ultimate defeat of Jacobites in Ireland. Yet, in terms of battlefield casualties it was but a skirmish in comparison with the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. This latter battle was the biggest ever in Ireland or Britain suffering about 8,000 casualties in four hours (nearly matching the Allied casualty list on D Day 1944).

The Boyne also compares lightly when one considers the Sieges of Athlone, prior to Aughrim when Athlone earned the dubious distinction of being the most bombed town in Ireland, a title which was held until the Luftwaffe bombed Belfast in WW 2.
The Williamite Campaign ended with the siege and subsequent Treaty of Limerick. Thousands of Irish Catholic troops emigrated to serve King Louis causing a major surge in the Wild Geese tradition. The Treaty was soon broken and the native Irish Catholics lived in grim subsistance, not rising again until 1798.
However, The Battle of the Boyne is a superb tour as are the other selections as listed.
Our Williamte Trail is extensive covering:

Newtownbutler
Enniskillen
Derry / Londonderry
The Boyne
Athlone
Aughrim

However we have broken it down into sections of two day tours:
Newtownbutler - Derry/Londonderry
Boyne-Athlone-Aughrim.
Also, you can avail of a one day tour from our selection.

Please contact us to arrange your selection of one day, two day or four day tours.

Contact dbuckley@anu.ie