Battle of the Boyne 1690: The Irish campaign for the English crown

Osprey Campaign #160

by Michael McNally, Graham Turner (Illustrations)

Osprey's examination of the battle of the Willamite War in Ireland (1689-1691), which would decide the fate of the crown of England. In April 1685, James II ascended the English throne. An overt Catholic, James proved unpopular with his Protestant subjects, and a group of nobles invited the Dutch prince William of Orange to take the throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688; James II fled to France. James returned in 1689, a French fleet landing him at Kinsale in Ireland. On 14 June 1690, William led an army to Ireland and came face-to-face with the Jacobites along the banks of the Boyne near Drogheda. This book describes the events that led to the momentous battle on July 1, 1690.

Genres: History, Military History, Military Fiction, Ireland, Irish Literature, British Literature

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2005

Reviews

[Glyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to a pivotal moment in both British and Irish history.

This may well be one of the best in the almost uniformly excellent Campaign series. It offers a brief but clear history of the run up to the campaign an analysis of the fighting quality of both sidea and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the planning by both James and William of Orange before delivering an equally clear and easy to follow description of the battle itself
.

No real criticisms here except that it may have been helpful if a paragraph or two had been expended on the art of war in this period.

[Gonzalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this volume far less controversial than McNally's "Easter Rising 1916", and thus found it more enjoyable. It might have been because we are further removed from the events, or just because I had essentially no f***ing clue about the Battle of the Boyne prior to reading this book. In any case, it is a good overview of the battle and, to a lesser extent, of the War of the Two Kings.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mostly clear and compelling discussion of a small but momentous battle. That being said, Aughrim was what really decided the fate of Ireland in this war and it was a bigger and more dramatic battle. Boyne simply has the distinction of being "celebrated." I think a two in one deal would have made this book perfect.