World War One At Home

In 1914, the Hamilton Flute Band from Londonderry joined the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Their bass drum is now housed in St Columb's Cathedral, used as a communion altar.

Bentra Golf Course in Whitehead is revealed as the site of an airship mooring station, crucial in the fight against the scourge of German U-Boats.

In September 1914, MP John Redmond made an impromptu and divisive speech at Woodenbridge, Co Wicklow.

Lurgan Courthouse, now a bar and bistro in the town, once loomed over soldiers' wives accused of drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Templemore Barracks in Tipperary is today home to the training college for An Garda Siochana, but in 1914 it housed more than 2,000 German prisoners of war.

Lough Swilly provided shelter for the entire British Grand Fleet in autumn 1914. Kite balloons were used to spot German submarines and artillery guarded the mouth of the lough.

In 1914, St James's Gate in Dublin was home to Guinness, the world's largest brewery. Company ships were requisitioned by the admiralty and came to a fateful end.

In early 1915, Sam Steele received an urgent order for 50 bicycles fitted with rifle slips. The Tyrone soldiers who rode them set up the first observation posts along the front.

In 1914, Belfast's Crumlin Road Gaol housed militant suffragettes. When war was declared, Christabel Pankhurst called on women to postpone their struggle and support the fight.