Audio Accounts

Soldiers and Chiefs brings to life the stories of the people of Ireland who lived through different conflicts both at home and abroad.

Throughout the exhibition you have the opportunity to hear the personal stories of these people as they told it – there is a button on the front of the display cases, which you press to listen.

Read below for a preview of the audio accounts, or download the PDF file to print out at home and bring with you to the exhibition.

Soldiers and Chiefs - Audio Accounts Soldiers and Chiefs Audio Accounts.pdf (0.05 MB, Adobe PDF)

Introduction Room

Hear the stories of people who lived in and around Collins Barracks over the last 250 years.

Gallery 1 - The British Garrison in Ireland

Hear personal stories of the experiences of soldiers and their families in Ireland in the 19th Century.

Gallery 2 - Warfare in Ireland

Hear personal stories of the Siege of Athlone, 1691 and the Rebellion of 1798.

Gallery 3 - The Wild Geese

Hear personal stories of the Wild Geese’s experiences in European Armies during the turbulent years of the early 19th Century.

Gallery 3 (a) - Irish in the American Civil War

Hear an account of the experience of Irish military men in Mexico during the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848, fought after the U.S. annexation of Texas.

Gallery 4 - Irish in the British Service

Hear about Irish soldiers in the tropics, an Irishwoman's experience in India and an Irish soldier in Wellington's army.

Gallery 5 - The First World War & The 1916 Rising

Hear about the events during the Easter Rising in Dublin, 1916.

Gallery 7 Claiming the Future

Hear Irish Marching Orders, and a personal story of Irishmen fighting in the Spanish Civil War.

Gallery 7a - The Second World War – The Emergency

Hear civilians' stories from the Emergency and Irish men and women describing their experiences in the Allied Forces.