River Boyne

Overview Map of the course of the Boyne and nearby attractions

View along the Boyne

The River Boyne (Irish: An Bhóinn ) is a 112 km long river in Leinster, Ireland. It rises near the village of Carbury in County Kildare, which flows through the county of Meath in a northeasterly direction and flows near Drogheda in the Irish Sea.

The river was already known in antiquity. On the map of Ptolemy in the 2nd century, he is listed as Bouinda. In Old Irish is the name Bóand or Boann and probably means " white cow ". There is a river goddess of the same name, see Boann.

Despite its small length of the Boyne is of historical, archaeological and mythical significance. The river takes you past the old town of Trim, the Hill of Tara, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, the monasteries Mellifont Abbey, Monasterboice and the medieval town of Drogheda. However, most well-known among the tourist attractions of the Boyne is the Brú na Bóinne (Palace of the Boyne ) called collection of megalithic sites, including the UNESCO World Heritage list, the plants Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange.

According to legend, Fionn Mac Cumhail Fiontán caught the Salmon of Knowledge in the Boyne. On the Hill of Slane is the year 433 St. Patrick have ignited the first Easter fire. On its shores was in 1690, the Battle of the Boyne instead.