Walking Tour: Battle of the Yellow Ford

Battlefield archaeologist Dr James O’Neill returns to lead a walking tour of the site of the Battle of the Yellow Ford, the 1598 engagement in which Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeated an English army trying to relieve the besieged Blackwater Fort. The tour starts and finishes at Hill of the O’Neill and Ranfurly House in Dungannon on Saturday, 5 September 2026, and runs as part of the venue’s regular history walks programme.

What to expect

Dr O’Neill, a battlefield archaeologist who completed his doctorate at Queen’s University Belfast and has published widely on the Nine Years’ War, walks the roughly two-mile route across the countryside where the battle unfolded, explaining the tactics used and what the fighting would have looked and felt like for the soldiers involved. The tour covers the English march north from Armagh, the ambush by O’Neill’s forces, and the collapse of the Crown army, one of the heaviest defeats inflicted on an English force in Ireland. There is a comfort break with light refreshments around 12:30pm partway through the route. The walk includes country paths and some uphill sections, so moderate fitness and sturdy, weatherproof footwear are needed.

Getting there

The tour meets at Hill of the O’Neill and Ranfurly House in Dungannon town centre, with an additional pick-up point at St Colmcille’s GFC for part of the walk.

While you’re in Dungannon

Hill of the O’Neill is Dungannon’s best-known heritage site in its own right, with the Ranfurly House exhibition on the Flight of the Earls and the Plantation of Ulster open before or after the walk. There is more to see across Co. Tyrone.

Good to know

• Date: Saturday, 5 September 2026
• Time: 10am to 3pm, with a break around 12:30pm
• Venue: Hill of the O’Neill and Ranfurly House, Dungannon
• Price: £28 per person at the last running of this tour, book through hilloftheoneill.com
• Moderate fitness required, sensible outdoor footwear advised