The left wing, composed chiefly of French infantry, supposed to be the best troops in the army, never fired a shot.

The centre and right, composed entirely of Irish, most of whom had never before been in battle, were alone engaged.

With the exception of his Dutch guards, all William's foreign troops had been repeatedly broken; his cavalry had been driven off the field by the Irish horse, while no division of the Irish was broken or suffered a decided defeat, until the infantry from the hill of Donore were compelled to retreat, which they did in perfect order.
Throughout the day, the Irish cavalry showed a vast superiority to those of the British, and even broke and destroyed regiments of infantry; and when the whole army fell back they closed up the rear, and effectually prevented any attempt at pursuit.

Thus, the battle of the Boyne was fought rather to cover a retreat than defend a position.

The loss on either side was estimated at about five hundred, and General Hamilton was the only prisoner taken by the British.
The honours of the fight certainly rested with the Irish, who, against a vastly superior force, comprising some of the best troops in Europe, maintained themselves throughout the day, and gained, indeed, in most points, a decided advantage.
King James's valour had entirely evaporated before the first shot was fired.