Definition of the battle of the boyne in English English dictionary
a famous battle in 1690 near the River Boyne in Ireland, in which Britain's Protestant King William III defeated the former King James II (a Catholic), and ended the attempts by the Catholic part of the royal family to rule in Britain
Boyne, The Battle of the. (July 1690) Victory in Ireland for William III of England, a Protestant, over the former king James II, a Roman Catholic. James was attempting, with the help of the French and the Irish, to regain his throne. In this battle, fought on the banks of the River Boyne, some 35,000 men under William defeated about 21,000 of James's troops, forcing James to flee the country. The battle is celebrated in Northern Ireland as a victory for the Protestant cause