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Irish Republican History Museum

2007 establishments in Northern IrelandHistory museums in Northern IrelandIrish republicanismMuseums established in 2007Museums in Belfast
The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
Irish Republican History Museum exterior
Irish Republican History Museum exterior

The Eileen Hickey Irish Republican History Museum (Irish: Iarsmalann na Staire Poblachtach Éireannach), is a museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was established in 2007 after years of campaigning by Eileen Hickey, who collected the exhibits.The museum is based in Conway Mill in the Falls Road area of West Belfast. The site is a former linen mill built in 1842 which has been in community use for the last thirty years. The museum opened in February 2007 on the first anniversary of the death of Eileen Hickey, one of the major driving forces behind the initiative. The museum is administrated by a committee made up of volunteers. Hickey was the former Officer Commanding of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners in Armagh Women's prison and she dedicated her life to preserving artifacts and relics from the period in Irish history known as The Troubles.The museum was officially opened by Fr. Des Wilson and Noelle Ryan. Exhibits have been donated by hundreds of individuals and families. These include prisoners handicrafts made by republicans imprisoned around the world, weapons used by republicans and pictures and artwork relating to the conflict. Some exhibits date back as far as the United Irishmen's rebellion of 1798. Key exhibits include: A jacket worn by IRA volunteer Mairéad Farrell while in prison. A cell door and bed removed from Armagh women's prison. A large array of posters and paintings related to the conflict. Articles of interest on deceased members of the National Graves Association, Belfast and other republicans in Belfast and beyond. A library and interpretive centre to help with education projects and those conducting historical research.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Irish Republican History Museum (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Irish Republican History Museum
Conway Street, Belfast Lower Falls

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

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N 54.599 ° E -5.951 °
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Conway Mill

Conway Street 5-7
BT13 2DE Belfast, Lower Falls
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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Website
conway-mill.ie

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Irish Republican History Museum exterior
Irish Republican History Museum exterior
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Shankill Road bombing

The Shankill Road bombing was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 23 October 1993 and is one of the most well-known incidents of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The IRA aimed to assassinate the leadership of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA), supposedly attending a meeting above Frizzell's fish shop on the Shankill Road, Belfast. Two IRA members disguised as deliverymen entered the shop carrying a bomb, which detonated prematurely. Ten people were killed: one of the IRA bombers, a UDA member and eight Protestant civilians, two of whom were children. More than fifty people were wounded. The targeted office was empty at the time of the bombing, but the IRA had allegedly realised that the tightly packed area below would inevitably cause "collateral damage" of civilian casualties and continued regardless. However, the IRA have denied this saying that they intended to evacuate the civilians before the explosion. It is alleged, and unearthed MI5 documents appear to prove, that British intelligence failed to act on a tip off about the bombing.The loyalist Shankill Road had been the location of other bomb and gun attacks, including the Balmoral Furniture Company bombing in 1971 and the Mountainview Tavern attack and Bayardo Bar attack both in 1975, but the 1993 bombing had the most casualties. It resulted in a wave of revenge attacks by loyalists, who killed 14 civilians in the week that followed, almost all of them Catholics. The deadliest attack was the Greysteel massacre.