An Cosantóir

soldiers and chiefs | 19 SOLDIERS AND CHIEFS BY CPL PAUL MILLAR PHOTOGRAPHS BY SGT MICK BURKE T he 'Soldiers and Chiefs' exhibition is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year at the National Museum in Collins Barracks, Dublin. It is the National Museum's largest exhibition and has received over one million visitors as well as winning the 'Best Exhibition' award in 2009. The exhibition, which covers the period from 1550 to the present, is approached through three main themes: the Irish soldier at home; the Irish soldier abroad; and the Irish soldier in the 20th Century. It is very fitting that this exhibition is on display in the barracks that held the first ever review of the Free State Army in December 1922. The first theme concerns garrison life in Ireland; how trades and communities grew around the military over centuries, and the four major Irish wars up to 1800. It challenges many common preconceptions, from foreign involvement to the reasons why soldiers join armies. The Irish soldier abroad is next, starting with the 16th Century Wild Geese, and includes the Irishmen who enlisted in the armies of France, Spain and Austria. This area includes the battle flag of the Dillon Regiment from the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. In a section on the American Civil War we hear about the estimated 300,000 Irishmen who fought on both sides. This section finishes with the little known battle of Ridgeway in 1866 when Irish veterans attacked the British colony of Canada. Irishmen once comprised nearly 40% of the British Army, though recruitment was never consistent and changed with economic conditions. The Irish in British service section covers this aspect from 1790 to 1914. There is an interactive display with three main weapons a soldier would have used and visitors can handle the guns and receive realistic instruction taken from the manuals of the day. This theme continues with the First World War, when 150,000 Irish volunteered for service with the British Army. The Irish at War Central to this display is a restored 18-pounder field gun used in its thousands in the Great War, and also used in the Easter Rising and the Irish Civil War. To the side lies a German maxim machine-gun, which, weighing in at over 50kg and deployed at a rate of 15 per battalion, provided a formidable obstacle for the troops that faced them across the battlefields of the Western Front. Throughout this display you catch glimpses of trench life; from the boring times spent trying to make life easier to the horrible reality of 'going over the top'. The 1916 Rising forms the next part. Central to this section are the actual flag that flew over the GPO and James Connolly's undershirt, worn while wounded in the GPO. There are many snippets here that document the Rising, shedding light on the tactics of both sides. The Irish Wars covers the War of Independence and the Civil War. This section highlights the difficulty in telling friend from foe or fighter from civilian. It also includes a number of items that show the value of Cumann na mBan in assisting the rebel efforts. Last in this area, stand Michael Collins' overcoat, still marked with a mud stain from where he fell at Béal na Bláth and the uniform that IRA chief of staff Liam Lynch was wearing when he died; both men killed in action. The area covering the period from the establishment of the Free State to present times includes the Emergency, and great displays about the Congo and our contribution to UNIFIL in Lebanon. If you want to really understand the history, traditions and identity of the Defence Forces, then a visit to the 'Soldiers and Chief's exhibition is a must. THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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