THE EILEEN Hickey Irish Republican History Museum at Conway Mill is a top class facility which allows a detailed look into the history of Irish republicanism.

But the museum, which opened in 2007, a year after Eileen Hickey passed away, isn’t confined to just the history of Irish republicanism. It also contains a great deal of literature and artefacts pertaining to Irish unionism too.

Whilst being a  relatively small museum in terms, it contains a wealth of information and material which would take a long time to go through completely, from the replicated cell in which Eileen Hickey was imprisoned in Armagh Gaol to the numerous pieces of artwork made by prisoners serving time in Long Kesh, to other interesting artefacts like the shirt which IRA Volunteer Tom Williams was wearing when he was shot at Easter 1942. 

Williams, who was injured during an attack on the RUC to distract the force from a planned Easter Parade elsewhere in the city, was hanged in September 1942 for the shooting of RUC Constable Patrick Murphy, who gave chase when Williams and a group of Volunteers put their operation in progress. It has since been proved that Williams did not fire the shots which killed Constable Murphy, but being shot himself and expecting to die, confessed to save the lives of his comrades.

One of the great strengths of the museum is its keen focus on women’s history, and it chronicles the lives of famous Irish women, from the time of Mary Ann McCracken, to Winifred Carney, Joan Connolly, Constance Markievicz up through to recent history, with women such as Máire Drumm, Eileen Hickey herself, who was the O.C. of the female IRA prisoners in Armagh Gaol, and Mairéad Farrell.

To anyone with even a passing interest in Irish history, the museum is a real treasure trove. Some of the unique exhibits include a pike from the 1798 Rebellion, ballot papers from the 1918 General Election and the flag which was draped over the coffin of Joe McKelvey after he was executed during the Irish Civil War. 

There is a fascinating display containing guns which were brought in by UVF gun-running prior to the First World War, as well as armbands and other military paraphernalia associated with the 36th Ulster Division which saw intense action during the war, particularly at the Battle of the Somme. There are also copies of the debates which took place during the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which led to the Civil War, and commemorative items to mark the opening of the Northern Irish Parliament on June 22, 1921.

Included too is a library, reading and computer room containing many books on Irish history which are hard to find elsewhere. When I wrote my own dissertation for my history degree back in 2013 on the IRA in Belfast during the Second World War, the museum was invaluable in helping me get access to books and records which I couldn’t get hold of, even through the National Archives in Dublin and London or the Public Records Office here in the North.

The museum is currently open 10am to 2pm Tuesday to Saturday and is free to enter. It's  accepting new donations of artefacts related to Irish history, and only last month received a large, ornate Irish harp which was carved by prisoners in 1973 and won by a man living in France, who has since donated it.

Fearghal and Susan, who help run the museum, said: “We’re still accepting new items which people want to donate to our exhibits. We seek to promote through art, crafts and artefacts the history of the republican struggle for Irish freedom. We’re an independent museum, solely reliant on public donations and we don’t receive funding for our work. We’re proud to run the museum how Eileen envisioned it.”