The Battle of the Boyne site still has potential to be controversial, writes Tim O'Brien.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley will be afforded a more detailed view of the Battle of the Boyne site than has been traditionally available to visitors when they visit the Boyne Valley today.
This is not simply because Dr Paisley and Mr Ahern are distinguished visitors, but because of the Government's acquisition of the Oldbridge estate, which includes the main battle site, the location of the Jacobite camp, and the routes of the Jacobite retreat to Duleek.
However, more than 300 years after the Battle of the Boyne, the site may yet again give rise to controversy as it is known that the late TD Liam Lawlor and lobbyist Frank Dunlop were involved with the 500-acre property before its acquisition by a private company in 1997 for €3.5 million.
In 1999, Mr Ahern announced the Government's intention to buy the estate and it was acquired by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in 2000, for almost €10 million, netting its short-term owners a profit of €6.3 million.
However the acquisition of the estate means Dr Paisley will now be able to tour the southern side of the Boyne and see where William of Orange crossed the Boyne at Drybridge and advanced with 3,500 horsemen, and where 10,000 Williamite soldiers conducted a flanking movement to the west of the main battle site. Dr Paisley will also, if he wishes, be able to inspect the Jacobite camp and artillery position and view the route of the retreat of the Jacobite army to Duleek.
Prior to the acquisition of the Oldbridge estate there was no public access to these locations and visitors tended to remain on the northern bank of the Boyne, site of the encampment of King William and his 36,000-soldier army. This northern site site was commemorated by an obelisk in 1732 which was destroyed by republicans in 1923.
Since the acquisition of Oldbridge estate, however, the OPW has developed visitor facilities at the southern side of the river including two way-marked trails which take visitors around the main battle site and the Jacobite positions.
Last year a limb from a 250-year-old, fallen walnut tree from the estate was used by sculptor Liam O'Neill to fashion a bowl which the Taoiseach presented to Dr Paisley and his wife Eileen on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in St Andrews, last October.
Oldbridge House, dating from about 1740, is currently being developed as a visitors' centre. Work is in progress on exhibitions using maps, models and graphics to depict the historic battle, and a display of full-scale replica 17th-century artillery with supporting military equipment in an outdoor setting.
The OPW also plans audio-visual facilities, toilets and further displays in the stable block with the restoration of the walled gardens, and provision of a tearoom pavilion.
When the intention to purchase was announced in 1999, the Taoiseach said it should be seen as a gesture of reconciliation towards the unionist tradition.
Shortly afterwards, it emerged that lobbyist Frank Dunlop had been involved with the property and had been paid £28,000 in 1994 after planning permission was obtained for a hotel and golf course development. That project never went ahead.
It also emerged that the late Fianna Fáil TD Liam Lawlor had been involved in efforts to secure a buyer for the property in the mid-1990s. The Oldbridge property was registered on November 17th, 1997 to a private Irish company for a reported €3.5 million sale price.
In January 1998, the Government issued calls for proposals in relation to the site. Mr Ahern made his announcement in December 1999 and it was bought in 2000, for a figure in the region of €9.83 million. The OPW did not disclose the vendors' names.