Boyne

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Boyne River [Ir. An Bhóinn, Boand; (river of) the white cow (?)]. The principal waterway of Leinster, eastern Ireland; the waters of the Boyne rise in the Bog of Allen in Kildare and run north, west, and then east for 70 miles through counties Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, and Louth, emptying into the Irish Sea at Drogheda. The river takes its name from Boand, the pre-Christian Irish goddess, and has been identified with the Bouvinda mentioned in Ptolemy's Geography (2nd cent. AD). It may also have borne the name Eithne, Ethlinn, or Ethniu. The valley of the Boyne includes some of the most important archaeological sites in Ireland, including New-grange (Brug na Bóinne in Irish narrative), Knowth, and Dowth. The estuary of the Boyne was called Inber Colptha in Old Irish narrative, the site of many heroic departures and landings. In Altrom Tige Dá Medar [Nurture of the Houses of the Two Milk Vessels], Eithne loses her veil of invisibility while bathing in the waters of the Boyne, after which she dies in the arms of St Patrick. At Slane, St Patrick lit the pascal fire that would begin his challenge to the paganism of nearby Tara and thus the Christianization of all Ireland. One of the many places Fionn mac Cumhaill was thought to have caught the salmon of knowledge was the ‘Pool of the Boyne’, Linn Féic; and one of the many places he was thought to have been killed was the Ford of Brea or Áth Brea on the Boyne. The valley is also rich in Christian associations, as it contains the early monastic ruins at Monasterboice and the 12th-century ruins at Mellifont.

The most resonant associations of the Boyne in the Irish imagination for the past three centuries has been with the defeat of Catholic forces under James II at the Battle of the Boyne, 3 miles W of Drogheda, 1 July 1690. This loss, together with another at Aughrim and the humiliating Treaty of Limerick (both 1691), quashed Catholic and nationalist aspiration until the rising of 1798. See Harry Boylan, The Boyne: A Valley of the Kings (Dublin, 1988). See also DUB CHOMAR; SHANNON; SINANN.

Boyne, Australia, Ireland Ireland: locally An Bhóinn. A river possibly named after Queen Boann or Boand whose name means ‘She who has white cows’ or ‘White Cow (goddess)’ from bó ‘cow’. According to legend, she lifted the lid of the Well of Segais at Carbury. This was sacred to her husband Nechtain, King of Leinster, and only he and his cup‐bearers were allowed to go near it. In response to this act of disobedience the water rose up, formed the River Boyne on its way to the sea, and drowned her.

Boyne river, c.70 mi (110 km) long, rising in the Bog of Allen, Co. Kildare, E Republic of Ireland, and flowing NE through Co. Meath, past Trim, to the Irish Sea near Drogheda. Salmon is caught in the river. In the battle of the Boyne (July, 1690) near Drogheda, the armies of King William III defeated the Catholic James II, who fled to France. The victory is commemorated annually on July 12 by Protestants in Northern Ireland.