Living History at Battle of the Boyne - Heritage Week 2026

Every August, Oldbridge Estate does something no museum exhibit quite manages - it puts you on the battlefield itself, surrounded by people who have spent years learning exactly how 17th-century soldiers lived, fought, and survived. This free Heritage Week event brings Laoch Living History back to the site of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne for two days of costumed interpretation, open to anyone who turns up. It suits curious adults, history buffs, and families with children old enough to ask questions - which, once you meet a halberdier or a barber-surgeon up close, they absolutely will.

What to expect

The event runs from 11am to 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Laoch Living History field a full camp of costumed re-enactors drawn from the Williamite and Jacobite armies that clashed here in July 1690 - musketeers, pikemen, artillery gunners, halberdiers, blacksmiths, sutlers, monks, and barber-surgeons. The latter role alone tends to stop visitors in their tracks: field medicine in the 17th century was not for the squeamish, and the interpreters explain it in unflinching detail.

At 2pm each day, costumed historian Tola Collier leads a battlefield walk across the estate grounds. Tola has been guiding at Oldbridge for several seasons and covers the tactics, geography, and key personalities of the engagement - why King William chose this crossing point, how the Jacobite defence was positioned along the south bank, and what the landscape looked like to the soldiers who waded the Boyne that morning. The walk takes in ground that has barely changed since 1690 and is a genuine highlight, worth timing your visit around.

Outside the living history programme, the Oldbridge visitor centre itself is open and worth an hour of your time. Exhibits include original weapons, a laser battlefield model, life-size figures of both kings, and an audio-visual presentation. The restored Victorian walled garden is free to enter and makes a good place to recover after the battlefield walk.

Getting there

Oldbridge Estate sits on the N51 Drogheda to Slane road, roughly 5km west of Drogheda town centre. Car is the easiest option - there is ample free parking on site. If you are coming by public transport, Bus Eireann runs regular services into Drogheda from Dublin Busaras (roughly 1 hour), and from there a taxi or rideshare out to the estate is straightforward. Drogheda is also served by Irish Rail on the Dublin to Belfast Enterprise line, with the station about 10 minutes from the town centre.

While you’re in Drogheda

Drogheda is a proper town with a good spread of cafes, pubs, and places to eat along West Street and Shop Street - worth a stop before or after the estate. There is more to see in Drogheda and across Co. Meath.

Good to know

• Dates: Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August 2026, 11am - 4pm
• Battlefield walk with Tola Collier at 2pm each day (free, no booking required)
• Price: Free - part of National Heritage Week 2026
• Visitor centre admission is separate (adults €5, family €13, under 12s free)
• Check the Heritage Ireland website at heritageireland.ie for any updates before travelling
• The estate grounds and gardens are open year-round; the walled garden is always free to enter