Lilliburlero, the Battle of the Boyne 1690

In Northern Ireland ‘The Twelfth’ is the height of the Marching Season, the anniversary of the largest and most important battle in Irish history; the Battle of the Boyne. Fought on the July 1st 1690 (July 12th on the modern calendar) this battle saw the Protestant Alliance of William III defeat the Catholic Army of James II. To celebrate Protestant Orangemen parade through the towns, wearing traditional bowler hats and the slashes of their order, accompanied by fifes and drums, carrying banners of King Billy on a white horse.

In the 17th Century Irish Catholics were bitterly disappointed, they had fought Oliver Cromwell for the Stuarts, but most of the land taken from them in the Cromwellian Settlement remained in Protestant hands and the Anglican Church was re-imposed. In 1685 their hopes were raised when the Catholic King James II inherited the throne, but he was forced into exile by the Glorious Revolution with the mocking doggerel of Lilliburlero ringing in his ears. With the help of his cousin Louis XIV he landed in County Cork three months later and received a rapturous welcome, his authority defied only by the Protestant strongholds of Derry and Enniskillen. On June 14th 1690 his nephew, son-in-law and usurper Willem-Hendrik van Oranje-Nassau, now King William III of England, brought his army to Belfast. As he marched south the outnumbered Jacobites retreated before him, but James was determined not to surrender his capital without a fight. Thirty miles north of Dublin he drew up his army behind the River Boyne; a deep, tide-affected waterway steeped in Irish legend. William was more than happy to accept battle and the following morning his elite Dutch Blue Guards splashed waist deep into the Boyne while their band played Lilliburlero.

Lilliburlero is an Area Movement and Impulse Game designed by Philip Jelley depicting the Battle of the Boyne. ‘King Billy’ has 36,000 Danes, Dutch, English, Germans, Huguenots, Scots-Irish and Welsh. He must manoeuvre them through the mist, hills, bogs and streams of the Boyne Valley, cross the river and win the victory he needs to end the war. ‘Dismal Jimmie’ has only 25,000 men, mostly unpaid and poorly armed Irish, but he has a veteran French Brigade and some of the best cavalry in Europe. If he can catch the Williamites as they struggle over the fords he may yet regain his lost crown.

Lilliburlero is an area/movement game currently in the ATO Pipeline

It has five scenarios, though the Williamites may start eariler, which affects the End of Turn 1dr.

1) Oldbridge Ford; 9 o'clock start using only the units that fought at Oldbridge (60 minutes).

2) Rossnaree Ford; 9 o'clock start after the Williamite flank march reaches Rossnaree (240 minutes).

3) The Battle of the Boyne; 5 o'clock start with the armies set up in their camps (300 minutes).

4) Schomberg's Army; using the set up rules for another scenario, but with no Dutch units (240 minutes).

5) Free Set Up; 9 o'clock start with the armies set up anywhere on their side of the River Boyne (240 minutes)