River Boyne

{{short description|River in Leinster, Ireland}} {{redirect|Boyne Valley}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=February 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox river | name = River Boyne | native_name = {{native name|ga|An Bhóinn}} | name_other = {{ubl|{{native name|ga|An Bhóinn}} |{{native name|ga|Abhainn na Bóinne}}}} | name_etymology = Proto-Celtic *''bou-windā'', "white cow"  | image = 20130808 bru na boinne07.JPG | image_size = | image_caption = At Brú na Bóinne | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption =  | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Ireland | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = Region | subdivision_name3 = Leinster | subdivision_type4 = Counties | subdivision_name4 = Kildare, Offaly, Meath, Louth | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =  | length_km = 112 | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location = | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = {{convert|38.8|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} | discharge1_max =  | source1 = Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury | source1_location = County Kildare | source1_coordinates = {{coord|53.351906542854074|-6.956809100021702}} | source1_elevation = | mouth = Irish Sea | mouth_location = Between Mornington, County Meath, and Baltray, County Louth | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|53.72173|-6.23813|display=inline,title}} | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size_km2 = 2695 | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = River Blackwater | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }} [[File:Boyne-Tal.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The River Boyne and Boyne Valley as seen from the Knowth passage tomb of Brú na Bóinne]]

The '''River Boyne''' ({{langx|ga|An Bhóinn}} or {{lang|ga|Abhainn na Bóinne}}) is a river which flows through Leinster, Ireland. It is about {{convert|112|km|mi}} long. The Boyne rises near Carbury, County Kildare and flows north-east along the border with County Offaly before entering County Meath to reach the Irish Sea between Mornington, County Meath and Baltray, County Louth.

The River Boyne is famously known for being the location of the Battle of the Boyne. The events seen Protestant King William III beat Catholic King James. This dramatically shaped the political and religious future of Britain and Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of the Boyne {{!}} National Army Museum |url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-boyne |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=www.nam.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - History - British History in depth: William III |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/william_iii_01.shtml |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Names and etymology == This river has been known since ancient times. The Greek geographer Ptolemy drew a map of Ireland in the 2nd century that included the Boyne,<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Holten |first=Anthony |title=The River Boyne Hidden Legacies, histories and lore explored on foot and by boat |location=Ireland |year=2016 |pages=27–29 |isbn=978-0-9569911-2-6}}</ref> which he called {{lang|grc|Βουουίνδα}} (''Bouwinda'') or {{lang|grc|Βουβίνδα}} (''Boubinda''), which in Celtic means "white cow" ({{langx|ga|bó fhionn}}). During the High Middle Ages, Giraldus Cambrensis called it the ''Boandus''. In Irish mythology it is said that the river was created by the goddess Boann and Boyne is an anglicised form of the name.<ref name=":0" /> In other legends, it was in this river where Fionn mac Cumhail captured Fiontán, the Salmon of Knowledge. The Meath section of the Boyne was also known as ''Smior Fionn Feidhlimthe''<ref>Dineen: Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla, 1927 ("Smior" - pg 1067, Ed.1996)</ref> (the 'marrow of Fionn Feilim'). The tidal estuary of the Boyne, which extends inland as far as the confluence with the Mattock River, 'the curly hole', had a number of names in Irish literature and was associated as a place of departure and arrival in the ancient legends and myths, such as The Tragedy of the Sons of Tuireann, Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, &c. In the Acallam na Senórach the estuary has the name ''Inber Bic Loingsigh'', abounding in ships. ''Inber Colpa'' or ''Inber Colptha'' was the principal name for the mouth of the Boyne in early medieval times. The townlands and civil parish of Colp, or Colpe on its southern shore preserve the name. It was associated in myth with Colpa of the Sword, a son of Míl Espáine, in the Milesian origin of the Irish, who drowned in the attempt to land there and is by tradition buried in the ringfort behind Colpe church. An alternative Dindsenchas tradition associates the name with the Máta, a massive aquatic creature, which having been killed was dismembered at Brú na Bóinne was thrown in the Boyne. Its shinbone (colptha) reached the estuary giving name to Inber Colptha.

== Course and geography == The Boyne is a lowland river, surrounded by the Boyne Valley. Near Donore Castle, it is joined by the River Deal, which transports water from Lough Lene. Much a stronger tributary, also from the left, is Kells Blackwater, which discharges into the Boyle in Navan, County Meath.

West of Drogheda, the Boyne is crossed by the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge, which carries the M1 motorway, and by the Boyne Viaduct, which carries the Dublin–Belfast railway line to the east. The catchment area of the Boyne is 2,695 km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="serbd">[http://www.serbd.com/MultiDownloads/Creport/Chapters/Physical%20Description%20Ch3.pdf South Eastern River Basin District Management System. Page 38]{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222354/http://www.serbd.com/MultiDownloads/Creport/Chapters/Physical%20Description%20Ch3.pdf |date=2016-03-03}}</ref> The long-term average flow rate is {{convert|38.8|m3|cuyd}} per second.<ref name="serbd" />

===Significance=== Despite its short course, the Boyne has historical, archaeological and mythical connotations. The Battle of the Boyne, a major battle in Irish history, took place along the Boyne near Drogheda in 1690 during the Williamite war in Ireland. It passes through the ancient town of Trim, Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara (the ancient capital of the High King of Ireland), Navan, the Hill of Slane, Brú na Bóinne (a complex of megalithic monuments), Mellifont Abbey, and the medieval town of Drogheda. In the Boyne Valley can also be found other historical and archaeological monuments, including Loughcrew, Kells, Celtic crosses, and castles.

The Ulster Protestant song ''The Boyne Water'' is a folk ballad about the events.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooper |first=David |date=2001 |title=On the Twelfth of July in the Morning... (Or the Man Who Mistook His Sash for a Hat) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4522649 |journal=Folk Music Journal |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=67–89 |issn=0531-9684}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Boyne Canal === right|thumb|200px|Section of the Boyne canal that runs parallel to the main river around the Battle of the Boyne site west of Drogheda The Boyne Navigation is a series of canals running roughly parallel to the main river from Oldbridge near Drogheda to Navan. The navigation, owned by An Taisce and mostly derelict, is being restored to navigable status by the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. The canal at Oldbridge, which runs through the Battle of the Boyne site, was the first to be restored.

=== Prehistoric art === A rock that showed indications of being prehistoric art was found in August 2013. Cliadh O'Gibne reported through the Archaeological Survey of Ireland that a boulder with geometric carvings had been found in Donore, County Meath.<ref>{{cite web|title=Newly Discovered Prehistoric Art in the Boyne Valley|url=http://www.archaeology.ie/News/Name,15142,en.html|work=National Monuments Service|access-date=30 November 2013|archive-date=27 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127185329/http://www.archaeology.ie/News/Name,15142,en.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ancient log-boat === Workers from the Boyne Fishermen's Rescue and Recovery Service (BFRRS), near Drogheda, were performing one of its regular operations to remove shopping trolleys from the Boyne, in May 2013, when they discovered an ancient log-boat, which experts believe may be 5000 years old. Initial examination by an underwater archaeologist suggested that it could be very rare because, unlike other log-boats found here, it has oval shapes on the upper edge that could have held oars. Investigations were ongoing as of 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=Log Boat Found in Ireland's Boyne River |url=https://archaeology.org/news/2013/05/13/130513-ireland-boyne-river-log-boat/ |newspaper=Archaeology |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |date=13 May 2013 |access-date=2 June 2017 |archive-date=2 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102184634/http://www.archaeology.org/news/867-130513-ireland-boyne-river-log-boat |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Viking ship === In 2006, the remains of a Viking ship were found in the river bed in Drogheda during dredging operations. The vessel is to be excavated as it poses a hazard to navigation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Viking ship found in Boyne to be excavated |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/viking-ship-found-in-boyne-to-be-excavated-1.1291932 |url-status=live |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204060502/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/viking-ship-found-in-boyne-to-be-excavated-1.1291932 |archive-date=4 December 2020}}</ref>

===Annalistic references=== {{Further2|Annals of Inisfallen (AI)}}

* AI770.2 The battle of Bolg Bóinne [gained] against the Uí Néill, by the Laigin.

== Flora and fauna == Several species of trout inhabit the Boyne: brook trout, brown trout and introduced rainbow trout. There is also a steelhead in the spring, and naturally reproducing salmon in the fall.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fish {{!}} The Friends of the Boyne River |url=https://boyneriver.org/fish/#:~:text=Brook%20Trout%2C%20Brown%20Trout%20and,reproducing%20salmon%20in%20the%20fall. |website=boyneriver.org |access-date=18 July 2022 |archive-date=9 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509085003/https://boyneriver.org/fish/#:~:text=Brook%20Trout%2C%20Brown%20Trout%20and,reproducing%20salmon%20in%20the%20fall. |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Gallery== {{gallery|mode=nolines|whitebg=y|height=100|align=center |File:Boyne Estuary.jpeg|Aerial view of Drogheda and Boyne estuary |File:Trim Castle November 2013.jpg|At Trim |File:Poolboy Bridge, Navan - geograph.org.uk - 412366.jpg|At Navan |File:Weir on Boyne Near Stackallen - geograph.org.uk - 397151.jpg|Weir near Stackallen |File:Dunmoe Castle - geograph.org.uk - 290230.jpg|At Dunmoe Castle |File:The Boyne Upstream of Slane Castle - geograph.org.uk - 499467.jpg|Upstream from Slane |File:The M1 Boyne Bridge, near Drogheda, Co. Louth - geograph.org.uk - 1414252.jpg|Passing under the M1 Boyne Bridge in Drogheda |File:Boyne Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 315651.jpg|Boyne Viaduct |File:Maiden Tower, Mornington, Co. Meath - geograph.org.uk - 907284.jpg|At Mornington |File:Boyne Obelisk.jpg|The former Boyne Obelisk, which stood on the north bank of the River Boyne (near Drogheda) from 1736 to 1923 }}

==See also== * {{HMS|Boyne}} * Anthony Holten, author of ''The River Boyne: Hidden Legacies, History and Lore Explored on Foot and by Boat'' ({{ISBN|9780956991119}})

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links==  {{EB1911 poster|Boyne}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20091023163547/http://www.salmon-ireland.com/salmon-rivers/eastern/river-boyne.jsp Salmon fishing on the River Boyne, from Salmon Ireland] *[http://www.irishwhitewater.com/river_guide/river.php?id=273 A canoeing and kayaking guide to the River Boyne, from Irish Whitewater] {{County Kildare}} {{Rivers of Ireland}}

Boyne Boyne Boyne Category:Tourist attractions in County Meath Category:Drogheda

River Boyne

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