St Patrick and the Valley of the Boyne. 21 



kind of boat called a coracle, and they could still see some of 

 those peculiar boats used on the South and West coasts of 

 Ireland, and not only there but on the Shannon. The first 

 spot he came to was that on which modern Drogheda now 

 stood, and he afterwards came to Oldbridge, where a monument 

 marks the spot where King William was wounded by a cannon 

 ball on the evening of the ist July, 1690. It might not be 

 exactly known how that battle was won. The night before the 

 battle of the Boyne King William was informed that there would 

 be a difficulty in getting across the Boyne in consequence of there 

 being only one bridge at Slane, which, however, was guarded 

 by a small body of men under King James. He accordingly 

 sent the Duke Schomberg's son, with twelve thousand men, 

 who on the following morning, in conjunction with King 

 William's force, completely crushed the six hundred men who 

 guarded the bridge, atid secured the place. There was a place 

 above that called Rossnaree, St. Patrick followed on to Slane. 

 Doubtless a lord existed where the bridge remains. He was 

 seeking Tara, the capital of the country, and he selected the hill 

 of Tara, which was then the highest hill in the County of 

 Meath, and on that hill he raised up a statue against Celtic 

 paganism. Looking up the Boyne, they could behold a 

 series of views which were unsurpassed in Ireland for beauty. 

 They could go along the Boyne's banks, either in the early 

 spring, when the primroses decorated the ground, or else when 

 it lay sweltering beneath the summer sun, or in the autumn, or 

 in the middle of winter, and they would find a place along the 

 banks of the Boyne rich in all things which could alone interest 

 them. There was a house erected in that place for the recep- 

 tion of George IV. He considered it a pity that the Royal 

 visits should be so infrequent that houses had to be erected for 

 their reception. The ruins of Castle Dexter and Dunmore 

 Castle could be seen further up. In fact, the whole banks of 

 the Boyne were marked by one long series of castles, placed 

 there by the Norman conquerors, and proving that the Boyne 

 was for some time a very important boundary to the English. 



