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Funding for museum about Irish in British Army

BBC Dr Laura Patrick. She has shoulder-length brown hair, wearing silver necklaces and a green and black dress. She is standing in front of a stain glass window and a military portrait and be seen to her left.BBC
Dr Laura Patrick is the Regimental Heritage Officer at the Royal Irish Regiment

A new museum hoping to tell the 350-year history of Irish soldiers and their families in the British Army has been awarded £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

UNTOLD: The Museum has unveiled plans to create state-of-the-art centres across two sites in Belfast and Enniskillen.

The Belfast galleries are set to open in the summer of 2027 in the restored listed linen warehouse at 28 Bedford Street in Belfast.

A second phase will focus on redeveloping the existing galleries at Enniskillen Castle.

Outside view of 28 Bedford Street. It is a three-storey with attic Venetian Gothic redbrick and sandstone former linen store, dated 1867. People are walking on the street outside.
The Belfast galleries are set to open in the summer of 2027 in the restored listed linen warehouse at 28 Bedford Street in Belfast

Artefacts which are currently housed across six individual collections, including Victoria Crosses, will now be consolidated as part of the project.

These include the Inniskillings Museum, Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum, Royal Ulster Rifles Museum, Royal Irish Regiment Museum, Collections and Archives of the Royal Irish Regiment, and Collections and Archives of the North Irish Horse.

Disbanded regiments from what is now the Republic of Ireland will also be included in the story.

Announcing the Heritage Fund support, Hugh Crossey, chairman of UNTOLD: The Museum said it would "hopefully inspire people to see things differently and make meaningful connections across generations".

"Education will be at the heart of all the exhibitions, offering our visitors the chance to explore the lives of the Irish men and women who rose above divisions of class, politics and religion and overcame extremes of hardship to make an indelible mark on our history," he said.

Royal Irish Regiment Architectural plans of the UNTOLD: The Museum. To the left there is a reception desk and to the right there are bookshelves. Drawings of people are walking around.Royal Irish Regiment
New spaces and galleries will be developed as part of the project

'Explore what we have in common'

Dr Laura Patrick, the regimental heritage officer of the Royal Irish Regiment, said she and her colleagues wanted to "address a difficult conversation" and look at the "human experiences behind the often facelessness of the British Army".

"What did the soldiers sign up for, why did they sign up, what did they do, and what did they come home to because that wasn't always the most pleasant experience for a lot of them especially in the south," Dr Patrick said.

"We want to create a space with people for people – a safe space for them to come and debate and explore this fascinating and difficult story.

"It's just about using that rather unique heritage to explore what we have in common as opposed to what separates us for a change which is always an issue here in Northern Ireland.

"It's about education and it's about preserving that heritage for future generations."

Two Victoria Crosses laid out, the one on the right is in a box.
The museum currently houses a number of Victoria Crosses among its collections belonging to soldiers who fought at the Battle of the Somme - Pt William McFadzean and Pt Robert Quigg

The museum's main objective is to encourage conversations and "make a new and significant social contribution by healing divisions within the community and fostering intra- and inter-community bonds".

"Though this is an all-island story, historically, not all communities engage with this shared heritage," a museum spokesperson said.

Two stained glass windows inside the museum. The one on the right is a composite of St Patrick with two banners either side - one saying '1st BN The Royal Irish Rangers' and the other says '27th Inniskilling 83rd and 87th'. The one on the left has a crown with 32 blue dots either side of it.
The museum also has two stained glass windows inside - one representing St Patrick and the other featuring a crown with shamrocks and blue 32 blue dots representing the 32 counties of Ireland