Battle of Aughrim

The Battle of Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite war in Ireland. It was fought between the Jacobites and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691, near the village of Aughrim in County Galway.

Aftermath

Estimates of the two army?s losses vary. It is generally agreed that about 7000 men were killed at the battle. Most recent studies put the Williamite dead as high as 3000, with 4000 Jacobites killed. Many of the Jacobite dead were officers whom it was very difficult to replace. On top of that, another 4000 Jacobites either deserted or were taken prisoner. What was more, they had lost the better part of their equipment and supplies. For these reasons, Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite war in Ireland. The city of Galway surrendered without a fight after the battle and the Jacobite's main army surrendered shortly afterwards at Limerick after a short siege. The battle according to one author, "seared into Irish consciousness", and became known in the Irish language tradition as Eachroim an air - "Aughrim of the slaughter". The contemporary Gaelic poet Seamus Dall wrote of the Irish dead, "It is at Aughrim of the slaughter where they are to found, their damp bones lying uncoffined". Another poet wrote, "Our friends in vast numbers and languishing forms, left lifeless in the mountains and corroded by worms".

Related Topics:
Galway - Short siege - Irish language - Gaelic

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Since it marked the end of the Irish Catholic Jacobite resistance, Aughrim up until the early 19th century, was the focus of Loyalist celebrations in Ireland on the 12th of July ? in particular the Orange Order. Thereafter, it was superseded by the battle of the Boyne in commemorations on "the Twelfth" due to the switch to the Gregorian calendar. It has also been suggested that the Boyne was preferred because the Irish troops there were more easily presented as cowardly, whereas at Aughrim they generally fought bravely.

Related Topics:
Loyalist - Orange Order - Battle of the Boyne - The Twelfth

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The Aughrim battlefield site has recently become the subject of controversy in Ireland over plans to build a new dual carriageway the N6 road, through the former battlefield. Historians, enviromentalists and members of the Orange Order object to the destruction of the 1691 battlefield.

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