If you are planning a tour to Britian, and would like to take in some of the spectacle of our military heritage we can help you to take advantage of the dozens of re-enactment and other events staged around the country.
We will be adding an events calendar so you can see what is on and where!
A collection
of 20 historic aircraft and exhibits relating to Northern Ireland’s
aviation heritage, housed in a World War II hangar. Aircraft on
display include Canberra, Wessex and Alouette helicopters, Shorts
Tucano and Shorts 330, Vampire, Seahawk, Buccaneer and a WWII
Wildcat salvaged from Portmore Lough. Other displays include
historic photos and memorabilia.
In 1689 the deposed King James II
landed in Ireland with an army of French and Irish Catholics and
marched on the Williamite stronghold of Derry. The city, encircled
and bombarded, refused to surrender and after 105 days it was
relieved by ships of the Royal Navy. The siege is commemorated each
August by the Apprentice Boys of Derry. The city’s walls are still
intact and original cannon from the time of the siege are displayed
on them.
Dedicated to the history of
the Siege of Derry, the exhibition also explains the development of
the Apprentice Boys Association, established to commemorate the
relief of the city. The Memorial Hall contains a collection of
meeting rooms used by each of the Loyal Orders. It is also the
starting point for the Siege Heroes Trail.
A part of the Williamite War. A
Jacobite army under Viscount Mountcashel set out to take
Enniskillen, a base from which guerrilla attacks were being mounted
by Williamites. Mountcashel started by bombarding Crom Castle some
20 miles south east of Enniskillen. Two days later a Williamite
force arrived to confront them and the battle took place a mile
south of Newtonbutler. The Jacobites were crushed and suffered
heavy casualties
Housed in
Sovereign’s House, the collection contains the uniforms, medals,
regalia and the two Victoria Crosses won by the Regiment. A new
exhibition looks at trench warfare in the First World
War.
The castle
houses the regimental museum of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Displays include
uniforms, medals, flags, regimental regalia, weapons and other
military memorabilia. The castle, dating from the 16th century, was
the stronghold of the Maguires, Gaelic chiefs of Fermanagh. Around
the medieval keep are the 18th and 19th century barrack buildings
and the 17th century Watergate with twin turrets.
Ruined medieval castle situated
on a headland over the north Antrim coast, not far from the Giant’s
Causeway. Its oldest features are the two drum towers. First
recorded as home of the MacQuillans in 1513 it was later the
headquarters of the MacDonnell clan. A ship from the Spanish
Armada, the Girona, was wrecked on the rocks nearby and its cannon
were installed in the gatehouses of the castle.
One of the best preserved coastal
forts in Britain, now a hands-on military museum. Built in 1904-7
to defend the entrance to Belfast Lough, the fort had a number of
large calibre coastal guns to protect against naval attack, however
these proved of limited use against German air attacks in World War
II. It still has two 23 feet long guns, the original observation
post and three searchlight positions. The fort now houses a
Military Memorabilia Museum and a World War II Military Radio
Museum.
Fought near
Ballycastle in 1565, between the army of Shane O’Neill and that of
the Scots Clan Macdonnel in the struggle for supremacy in Ulster. A
surprise attack by O’Neill routed the Scots who fled over Knocklayd
mountain. Some parts of the battlefield, including the sites where
the two armies were encamped the night before, are now within the
town of Ballycastle, but the slopes of Knockayd remain wooded with
coniferous trees.
ne of the best preserved medieval castles in
Ireland. Standing on a rocky promontory looking over Belfast Lough,
it was originally almost surrounded by sea. Built by the Norman
John de Courcy in 1177, it was captured by King John in 1210. King
William first set foot in Ireland here in 1690. A French force
under Francois Thurot briefly seized Carrickfergus and its castle
in 1760 during the Seven Years War. The castle now houses
historical displays and cannon from the 17th to 19th century.
An English
expeditionary force under Henry Bagenal sent from Dublin to relieve
the fort on the River Blackwater was ambushed by Irish forces near
the River Callan. Bagenal was killed by a bullet to the head, near
the bridge that now bears his name. Shortly after, the English
gunpowder store exploded. Irish cavalry followed by swordsmen on
foot took advantage, attacking at a point called the Yellow Ford.
The crown troops were cut to pieces, the survivors retreated to
Armagh. Information panels are being erected along the six mile
route.
Documenting
the history of Irish republicanism with artefacts dating back to
the United Irishmen’s rising of 1798 and the rebellion of 1803. It
contains medals from the period 1916-23 and items relating to the
imprisonment of Republicans in various decades. Weaponry on display
includes assault rifles, grenade launchers and hand guns used by
Irish Republicans as well as British military issue side arms and
rifles. There is also a large collection of posters and paintings
related to The Troubles.
Part of the Nine Years War. A running battle fought over two days in the area between Armagh and Monaghan that straddles the present day border with the Republic, between the forces of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Queen Elizabeth’s English army under Sir Henry Bagenal. Tyrone’s forces ambushed the English on the way to, and later from, Monaghan Castle, ending in victory for the Irish. The heart of the battlefield is now a wildlife centre where visitors can retrace the route of the battle.
Created to
examine Ireland’s role in the First World War, focusing on the
story of its three volunteer divisions – the 10th and 16th (Irish)
Divisions, and the 36th (Ulster) Division. It looks in particular
at the cross-community nature of these divisions and has since
expanded to take in World War II and other international conflicts.
Its collections follow the fortunes of named individuals in the
course of the First and Second World Wars
A
pre-arranged parley between the army of the Macdonnells and the
English garrison from Carrickfergus Castle turned into a battle
when the English, confronted unexpectedly by a full army near to
the castle, decided to charge rather than parley. The Scots counter
charge was more effective, scattering the crown troops, some of
whom escaped by swimming across Larne Lough to the peninsula of
Islandmagee.
Last surviving ship from the World War I Battle of Jutland. A C class light cruiser, HMS Caroline was launched and commissioned in 1914 and joined the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow. In World War II she served as Royal Navy headquarters in Belfast Harbour. Decommissioned in 2011, Caroline remains moored in Alexandra Dock, Belfast, under care of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. On completion of a restoration project, funded by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund, she will be opened to the public as a museum.
An enduring memorial to those who
fell in the two world wars, including a Home Front Exhibition and a
memorial to the hundreds killed in the Belfast Blitz. It also
commemorates the association of US armed forces with Northern
Ireland in World War II. Permanent exhibitions cover the Blitz, the
Ulster Home Guard, the American presence, and the role played by
the women of Ulster.
The planned confrontation between
rival factions, the Protestant Peep O’Day Boys and the Catholic
Defenders, in County Armagh. The Diamond is a crossroads between
Loughgall and Portadown. The Protestants were victorious but in the
aftermath resolved to form a new defensive association, the Orange
Order. Dan Winter’s House, a farmhouse next to the crossroads and
said to be the birthplace of the Orange Order, has been restored
and is open to the public. It displays of relics of the battle and
there is also a monument nearby.
Part of the
Ulster Rising of 1798. A local force of the United Irishmen led by
Henry Munro gathered in the town of Ballynahinch. They were
surrounded and bombarded by British forces under Major-General
George Nugent. The rebels attacked but were routed and then
massacred, effectively ending the rebellion in the north-east of
Ireland. Ballynahinch was sacked and many of its houses burned
down.