Thousands attend Scarva sham fight

It's an in costume re-enactment of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

It's an in costume re-enactment of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Author: Downtown/CoolFM Staff ReporterPublished 13th Jul 2022
Last updated 13th Jul 2022

Thousands of spectators flocked to watch the annual ‘Sham Fight’ in Scarva, Co Armagh, which returned for its first spectacle since before the pandemic.

4,000 members of the Royal Black Preceptory and 75 bands marched through the village, before the in-costume re-enactment of the Battle of the Boyne.

Scarva Sham fight in pictures.


Thousands attend Scarva sham fight
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The Sham Fight is a mock battle between King William of Orange and the catholic King James.

King James and the Jacobite army was fighting for Irish sovereignty, religious tolerance for Catholicism, and land ownership, while King William’s Williamite forces wanted protestant rule and feared what would happen if James was victorious.

The Orange victory in Drogheda in 1690 ensured a protestant succession to the British Crown.

King William was played by John Adair and King James by Colin Cairns.

The main protagonists were accompanied by performers in period costume representing the Williamite and Jacobite armies.

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