Fine weather draws crowds to museum military day

A SUNNY Sunday brought history to life the weekend before last as the Co Carlow Military Museum welcomed around 250 visitors to its annual Military Day, with re-enactors, collectors and enthusiasts travelling from across the country to take part.

Held on 24 May at the museum’s home in the old church on Athy Road, the event featured living history displays spanning eight centuries of military history, including the rebellions of 1798 to the trenches of the First World War, the battlefields of the Second World War and beyond.

Curator Paul Maguire said the day was a resounding success. “It’s the one day a year that we fundraise and advertise for the museum, so we only get one shot at it,” he said. “This year, we did exceptionally well and the weather had a massive impact.” 

Among the highlights were uniformed re-enactors portraying WWI soldiers and period army surgeons, courtesy of the Great War Society, alongside WWII US and Polish Airborne units. A replica of the Enigma Machine drew particular interest, as did the Irish Military Vehicle Group, which made the trip up from Naas with a fleet of army jeeps and other vehicles, all maintained in full working order.

The event draws a genuinely international cast. This year’s participants included re-enactors representing Ukrainian, Spanish, Russian, American, German and Irish forces across multiple historical periods.

Given the museum’s location adjacent to an assisted living facility on the grounds of St Dympna’s Hospital, whose staff Mr Maguire acknowledged with thanks, full battle re-enactments are off the table. “We can’t let off fireworks or bangers,” he explained, “but that said, they still give a good show.” 

The show has also become a popular trading and networking event for collectors. Military enthusiasts come from all over the country to buy, sell and swap everything from medals and uniforms to letters, flags and weapons. “When they meet like-minded people, they’ve got points of contact,” said Mr Maguire.

At the heart of it all, though, is the museum’s founding philosophy: ordinary people, not generals or politicians. “It’s about the ordinary ‘Joe Soap’, he or she who went to do what they did and their experiences while they were there, and it doesn’t matter what side they were on,” Mr Maguire said.

That ethos is reflected in the museum’s collection of approximately 4,000 items, the vast majority donated directly by Carlow families. “Of the 4,000 items we have, the bulk of them – the vast bulk of them – are from families themselves who have donated it: hats, badges, medals, coats, jackets that their relatives or themselves sometimes would have worn around the world,” he said.

The local connections run deep and in unexpected directions. Among the stories the museum holds are those of Carlow men who served on opposing sides of both the First World War and the Spanish Civil War. Women from the county feature, too: among the first female recruits in the Irish army, flying aircraft during the Second World War and working in munitions factories. 

Local industries, including Thompson’s and Governey’s boot factory, also contributed to the war effort during WWI, manufacturing shells, aircraft parts and boots.

Admission is open to all, with military enthusiasts, families, students and the simply curious all equally welcome. Attendance is growing year on year, and if last Sunday is any indication, Carlow military history has a bright future.