A National Museum of Ireland exhibition looks at Irish involvement in wars at home and abroad.
Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the American Civil War, thousands of people are attending events in Dublin exploring the crucial role played by the Irish in the conflict.
Around 200,000 men from Ireland were involved in American Civil War, and tens of thousands of them lost their lives.
They were the forgotten heroes of a foreign war.
The National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks is hosting the Soldiers and Chiefs exhibition which looks at Irish involvement in wars at home and abroad. To mark the anniversary of the American Civil War the museum has organised a series of lectures and events commemorating those who died. Lar Joye, Curator of Military History at the National Museum of Ireland, said it is important to recognise the Irish contribution and sacrifice during the conflict.
Irish soldiers fought on both sides of the war, serving with the Union army in the north and the Confederate forces in the south. In many cases, they even found themselves fighting fellow Irishmen.
What side they fought on depended on where they landed when they arrived.
Historian Professor Thomas Bartlett says approximately 150,000 Irishmen fought for the Union, while around 40,000 fought for the Confederacy. These figures do not include soldiers born in America to Irish parents.
The exhibition offers visitors a deeper insight into Irish American history. One visitor described the men who fought as poor, often uneducated Catholics, struggling to find their place in the United States while being drawn into a devastating war.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 17 April 2011. The reporter is Helen Donohue.
