About
The Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum occupies an elegant Georgian building — Sovereign's House — on The Mall in Armagh, one of Ireland's finest and most beautifully preserved Georgian streets. It is the regimental museum of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, known as the 'Faughs' from their motto 'Faugh A Ballagh' ('Clear the Way' in Irish), who served the British Crown for nearly 200 years from their formation in 1793 to their amalgamation into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1968.
The regiment was formed as the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot in 1793, at the height of the French Revolutionary Wars, alongside the 89th Regiment of Foot (also later part of the Fusiliers). Over nearly two centuries of service, the regiment earned battle honours from conflicts across the globe — the Napoleonic Wars (including Barrosa in 1811 where the first French Imperial Eagle standard was captured by British troops in the Peninsula), the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the Boer War, the First World War (where the regiment suffered catastrophic losses at Gallipoli and on the Western Front), and the Second World War (North Africa, Italy and North West Europe).
The museum displays uniforms, medals — including Victoria Crosses and Distinguished Service Orders — weapons, regimental silver, drums, colours, and personal memorabilia spanning the full sweep of the regiment's history. The collection represents one of the finest regimental museum collections in Ireland and is housed in a building of considerable architectural distinction. The Mall in Armagh — a tree-lined Georgian promenade — provides one of the most handsome settings for any museum in Northern Ireland.
Armagh itself is one of Ireland's most historically significant cities — the ecclesiastical capital of the island, with both the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland cathedrals occupying adjacent hilltops in a remarkable expression of Ireland's divided religious inheritance. A visit to the Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum fits naturally within a broader exploration of Armagh's rich heritage.
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Annual Visitors (2019)
15,000
Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Busiest: Saturday
💡 Weekday mornings for the most personal experience — the museum is small and a quiet visit allows full engagement with the collections.
💡 Visitor Tips
- The Victoria Cross collection is the collection's crown jewel — take time to read the citations accompanying each award. These brief official descriptions of extraordinary acts of bravery under fire are among the most remarkable documents in any museum.
- Ask the museum staff about the Barrosa Eagle — the story of the first French Imperial Eagle captured by British troops is one of the most dramatic individual battlefield stories of the Napoleonic Wars and deserves more than a glance at the display case.
- The museum is free to enter — one of Northern Ireland's best heritage bargains. Combine it with Armagh County Museum (also free, a few minutes' walk) for a full morning of county history.
- Walk The Mall before or after your visit — the Georgian promenade flanking the museum is one of the most beautiful public spaces in Ireland, and the setting of the museum in this elegantly preserved 18th-century landscape is itself part of the heritage experience.
- Ask staff about the Grey Man ghost — whether you believe or not, the stories associated with the museum's supernatural visitor add an entertainingly atmospheric dimension to any visit.
- Armagh is a remarkable heritage city with an extraordinary concentration of historic sites in a small area. Allow at least a full day: the two cathedrals, the county museum, the public library, the observatory and the mall are all within easy walking distance.
- The museum's collection is strongest on the Victorian and Napoleonic periods — the medal and uniform collections for these eras are particularly fine. Budget time accordingly.
- If you have family connections to the Royal Irish Fusiliers or its predecessor regiments, contact the museum in advance — the staff maintain detailed records and may be able to help with research.
Highlights
Discover the unique exhibits and collections at this museum.
Collections
The museum holds the regimental collections of the Royal Irish Fusiliers (87th and 89th Foot and their successors), spanning nearly 200 years of military service from 1793 to 1968.
Holdings include dress and service uniforms from all periods of the regiment's history, medals (including Victoria Crosses, Distinguished Service Orders, Military Medals and campaign medals from every major conflict), weapons from Brown Bess muskets to Second World War rifles, regimental Colours, regimental silver and plate, drums, musical instruments, photographs, official documents, letters and diaries, maps and orders of battle, personal memorabilia from officers and men, and the accumulated records of the regiment's battle honours across campaigns from the Peninsula to North West Europe.
The Barrosa Eagle replica and the VC collection are the collection's centrepieces.
The Royal Irish Fusiliers: A Regiment's History
The main permanent exhibition tracing the history of the regiment from its formation in 1793 through Barrosa (1811), the Crimea, India, the Boer War, both World Wars, and amalgamation in 1968. Uniforms, medals, weapons, Colours and personal artefacts throughout.
📍 Main Galleries
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.