Background

For over thirty years The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers have housed their beautiful museum in Enniskillen Castle Keep, their historic home.  Its displays are rich in artefacts including old standards, uniforms, medals, vehicles and weapons.  It also maintains extensive archive material such as photographs, letters and moving personal accounts of worldwide actions.

Future intentions

The museum trustees have now decided that the time is right to modernise and expand the museum.  By so doing they will increase space, which will enable the Inniskilling Dragoons and their successors to be represented in the museum, thereby telling the unique story of two regiments raised in one town and bearing its name in their title.

In addition the plan will be to introduce modern information technology to make the access of information more easily available to visitors, as well as providing audio visual equipment and replica weapons which can be safely handled.

Design

The new improved museum layout has been designed by specialists from The National Army Museum and meets all the requirements of a modern military museum including important issues such as health and safety and, as far as impossible, catering for people who have special needs.

Outreach

The trustees are very conscious of the need to reach beyond the normal perception of a military museum and to that end are aiming to work very closely with the following organisations:

Fermanagh District Council, Fermanagh County Museum, Local education service (National curriculum requirements), The NI Tourist Board, Local Business interests, Youth Organisations, The Military Heritage of Ireland and their proposed new Museum of the Irish Soldier in Dublin, Local historical societies and other military museums.

Finance

The cost of this ambitious project is estimated to be £500,000, of which we hope to raise £400,000 by way of  grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the International Fund for Ireland with the balance coming from private donations and local fund-raising initiatives.

Appeal launch

The Appeal for funds to assist the financing of the Inniskillings Museum project was launched on Saturday 24th May 2003 at the Museum.

Conclusion

We are very conscious that our museum must modernise if it is to increase its visitor numbers, serve its community, and keep telling its inspiring story.  It is important that the museum is seen as an interesting place to visit by people from all walks of life irrespective of creed or background.  This is why we subscribe to the principles of outreach, equality and neutrality so firmly.  We also realise that unless the future of the museum is secured soon then those who have had the privilege of serving in the Fusiliers and the Dragoons will fade away and important first hand knowledge will be lost, perhaps for ever.  This would be a tragedy.

Finally it is interesting to note that each of the two regiments had a hero whose final words will be remembered by all future generations.  Captain Oates of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons, who was a member of Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, realising that he did not have the strength to continue, left the tent, saying "I am just going outside and may be some time".  His companions realised that by walking out into the blizzard he was sacrificing his own life in the hope of saving theirs.  Sadly this was not to be the case, but it has gone down in history as the act of a very gallant gentleman.

Equally courageous was the action of Captain Gerald O'Sullivan VC of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who on the battlefield of Gallipoli, called upon his exhausted soldiers to "make one more charge for the honour of the old regiment".  He too was never seen again.

                                     The Inniskillings Museum Trustees, October 2005.

                                        

The Inniskillings Museum Appeal, The Inniskillings Museum, The Castle, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, BT74 7HL

Tel: 028 6632 3142  Fax: 028 6632 3142