New exhibition remembers the tradition of Irish soldiering
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| RIR exhibition opens on Monday in the Museum. | Some of the exhibits on display. |
TO mark the departure of the Royal Irish Regiment on their third tour in Afghanistan, the Trustees of the Royal Irish Regiment have created a new exhibition to illustrate the long and illustrious history of the Regiment, entitled 'Harp and Crown: A Tradition of Irish Soldiering'.
The exhibition will run at the Lisburn Museum and Irish Linen Centre from Monday, September 27 until Saturday October 16.
From the formation of the Inniskillings in 1688 The Royal Irish Regiment traces its lineage back through the Royal Ulster Rifles and the Royal Irish Fusiliers. The amalgamation in 1968 of these three regiments created the Royal Irish Rangers. In 1992 the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulster Defence Regiment were amalgamated to form the Royal Irish Regiment. The soldiers who served in these Irish regiments are immensely proud of the tradition of the Irish soldier and many of the present day old comrades will be manning the exhibition so that they can chat to visitors and tell their stories.
Ms Amanda Moreno, Head of Collections for the Museums of the Royal Irish Regiment has organised this exhibition in conjunction with the Trustees of the Royal Irish Regiment Museum, and with a lot of help from former and serving members of the Regiment. She said: "The Trustees are very grateful to Lisburn City Council for the opportunity to open this exhibition to a wider public since the museum no longer has a permanent home since the closure of St Patrick's Barracks.
"A number of the artefacts and displays have come from the museum but many of the artefacts have been borrowed from private collections and have seldom been seen by public before. This will really help bring the story of Ireland's last infantry regiment up to date, as its soldiers begin their third operational tour in Afghanistan."
The exhibition will be open to the public Monday to Saturday from 10am until 4pm.
Ulster Star
24/09/2010
