Mission Statement
This museum is dedicated to preserving the memory of these men and women, treating each with equal respect and dignity, and making their story available to the present generation.
Since the 1880’s various groups have passed through the gates of Renmore Barracks, including the Connaught Rangers, the Irish Volunteers, both sides in the Civil War and An Chead Chath (1st Infantry Battalion). From this barracks soldiers have departed for India, the Boer War, the Western Front and Gallipoli. United Nations service has seen members of An Chead Chath deploy to countries including the Congo, Cyprus, Lebanon, Chad and Afghanistan. Formally the depot of the Connaught Rangers, Renmore barracks has been an Irish Army installation since 1922.
The museum is divided into three parts; the first deals with the Connaught Rangers as the barracks was a Training Depot from 1881 until 1922. Exhibits include uniforms, weapons and personal artefacts including letters and photographs. The second deals with the struggle for independence, including the War of Independence, Civil War and the early years of the Irish Free State. There is also a section dedicated to the memory of Liam Mellows, after whom the barracks was renamed in 1952. Mellows motorbike, walking stick, revolvers and a book inscribed with his signature are on display.
The final section of the museum features the various peacekeeping missions involving Defence Forces personnel, most poignantly by weapons, including an axe, from the 1960 Niemba ambush in the Congo where nine Irish soldiers were killed.
Orignally opened in 1985, the museum was rehoused and modernized to a professional standard in 2008. The museum does not have a full time staff but has a few dedicated individuals who give freely of their time to cater for interested groups to come and experience the rich and varied story of over a hundred and thirty years in the life of a barracks.
Visits are strictly by appointment only and must be booked at least a week in advance.
Appointments can be made by e-mail dunuimhaoiliosamuseum@defenceforces.ie or by writing to:
Museum Curator,
Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa,
Galway.
You may also make an appointment by writing to Adjutant, Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa, Galway.
Many enquiries are made to the museum regarding service records of those who served in the Connaught Rangers. The museum does not hold any such records as they are housed in National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. Interested parties should contact Kew directly by letter or e-mail.
However, the barracks has a connection with the Connaught Rangers Association which was formed in Boyle, Co. Roscommon in 2002.
General enquiries regarding service records of former Connaught Rangers can also be directed to the Connaught Rangers Association.
Contact details of the Association are:
Secretary,
Connaught Rangers Association,
King House, Boyle,
Co. Roscommon.
