One of the most popular misconceptions in the Republic of Ireland about the loyalist celebrations on the twelfth of July each year is that the marching and associated events commemorate William of Orange’s notable if not decisive victory at the battle of the boyne in 1690.
That is not correct. The battle of the boyne took place, according to the calendar then in use, on July the first of that year. The twelfth actually coincides with a different battle altogether, one fought over a year later. At Aughrim, in County Galway, on July 12th 1691, seven thousand men lost their lives as the Jacobite army was finally and decisively defeated. Its remnants retreated to Limerick, where they surrendered after a few months later.
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