Orangemen Day
Orangemen's Day
Orangemen's Day, also called Battle of the Boyne Day is celebrated in Northern Ireland on June 12th

Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne took place at Oldbridge in Co. Meath near the mouth of the river Boyne in 1690. It was a fight in which the exiled King of England, James II, fought William II who had replaced him on the British throne. James had fled to France where he obtained help from King Louis XIV of France and afterwards landed in Ireland, where he had numerous supporters. William landed near Belfast and marched south with about 36,000 troops. James troops retreated until they came to the south side of the Boyne. William's army arrived on the north bank of the Boyne on June 30th. On July 1st two of William's commanders led a force of 10,000 men out of the camp to cross the river at Rosnaree. It was here that William's army defeated a small Jacobite force lead by Sir Neil O Neil. This army threatened to get behind the Jacobite forces and cut off any hope of retreat. Half of the Jacobite forces succeeded in withdrawing from Oldbridge, leaving a force of 10,000 men.

At one point in the battle, there were so many men in the river that the flow was temporarily stopped by a human dam. There were advances and retreats by both armies with losses on both sides. William's army swarmed across the river driving the Jacobites back. The Irish cavalry fell back to Donore hill, where they fought couragously. Finally the Irish were forced to retreat from Donore to Duleek. James was advised to flee to Dublin and on to France. William pressed on to take the bridge at Duleek and further on to Dublin. Any Jacobites discovered along this route were shot on sight. The battle was finally over.