War Memorial Gallery

The NI War Memorial opened in 2007 and replaced an earlier building, Memorial House, which was situated in Waring Street on a site which was bombed during the Blitz in 1941.

The war memorial gallery is a must see attraction for visitors with an interest in the Home Front and US Forces in Northern Ireland during the Second World War. The gallery is situated beside Belfast Cathedral and welcomes visitors from all around the world. 

The activities of the local people on the Home Front and the US Forces are displayed in life size dioramas. The fallen are remembered in a magnificent stained glass window, a commemorative wall in black Belgian marble and a granite plinth containing Books of Remembrance from both world wars.

The Belfast Blitz of 1941 is recalled by an iconic memorial by the distinguished Irish sculptress, Carolyn Mulholland. The center piece is a large bronze by the leading Ulster sculptor John Sherlock of a mother and her daughter escaping from the destruction caused by the bombing of the city by the Luftwaffe.

James Magennis, Northern Ireland’s only recipient of the Victoria Cross in WW2, is presented in a striking oil painting by the noted Ulster artist, Robert Taylor Carson. The Education Officer runs a comprehensive schools programme based around topics relevant to the primary school curriculum. Community groups, professional bodies, ex-Service organisations and similar groups are invited to book a visit to the gallery.

Researchers may have access to books about the two world wars, magazines, pamphlets, photographic albums, newspaper cuttings, scrapbooks, costumes, uniforms and Home Front material. For access contact: curator@niwarmemorial.org.

The gallery is open Monday to Friday from 10.30am to 4.30pm. Admission is free. School and group visits can be arranged with the Education Officer, contact: education@niwarmemorial.org.

War Memorial Gallery

21 Talbot Street
Belfast
BT1 2LD

Telephone

028 9032 0392