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What are the Historical Collections of the National Museum?

The 10,000 objects in this catalogue include selections from the following Historical Collections

Military History Collection (16th to 20th centuries)

Includes uniforms and uniform accessories, militaria, firearms and bladed weapons, medals and military documents relating to Irish soldiers in the British, American and Irish armies and beyond.

Historical Collection (18th to 20th centuries)

Includes 18th century pamphlets, tickets and currency, material relating to the 1798 Rebellion, the 1803 Rebellion, Catholic Emancipation, the Repeal of the Union Movement, the Young Ireland Movement, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Fenian Movement, Home Rule, the Land Wars, and the formation of the Irish Free State to about the 1940s. 

Easter Week Collection (early 20th century; c.1890s to 1923)

Includes material dating from the establishment of the Gaelic League, the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army, Cumann na mBan, Fianna Eireann and other nationalist groups, the Labour Wars, the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and Irish Civil War, to the formation of the Irish Free State. The collection also includes the Joseph Cashman Photograph Collection, and a large collection of internment art and autograph books.

Flags and Banners Collection (17th to 20th centuries)

Includes military and naval flags, and trade and political banners.

Transport Collection (19th century)

Includes 18th and 19th century coaches and carriages, the Bantry Boat (1796), and paper material such as schedules, models, photographs, drawings and tickets relating to 19th  century railway in Ireland.

Presidential Collection (20th century)

Includes the gifts presented by State leaders to Irish Presidents throughout the 20th century.

Cartographic Collection (17th to 19th centuries)

Includes maps of Ireland and its provinces from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

Decorative Arts Collections

The Decorative Arts Collections also include some objects closely associated with historical events or personalities.

 


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