Exhibition: Irish Speaking Soldiers from East Belfast in the First World War

With support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Cairde Turas (a sister project of Turas, the east Belfast Irish language organisation) researched Irish-speakers from east Belfast who enlisted to fight in the First World War.

This exhibition highlights the findings of the research. Over seventy soldiers were identified. They lived in the working class communities that evolved in east Belfast after the arrival of industry, and relied for work on the local shipyards and factories. They included family members, workmates, and Catholic and Protestant neighbours who fought alongside each other, mostly at the Somme.

They were drawn from all sides of the community and included some who had signed the Ulster Covenant. Three years before the war, in the census of 1911, all had said they were Irish speakers. The exhibition presents a snapshot of their lives before, during and in some cases after the war.