A remarkable new exhibition is bringing the story of the Connaught Rangers to audiences across the West of Ireland.
Titled Ranging Memories, the exhibition takes its name from the memoir of Lt. Col. H.F.N. Jourdain, the last Commanding Officer of the regiment, who served from 1793 to 1922. While Jourdain’s book offers a light-hearted personal account, the exhibition goes further, drawing on the definitive three-volume regimental history he co-authored with Edward Fraser in 1928 to tell the full story of the Rangers’ campaigns.
The exhibition charts key chapters in the regiment’s 129-year history through a series of photographic panels, chronicling the Rangers from their founding at Portumna Castle in 1793, through their heroic deeds in the Napoleonic Wars, to the tragedy of the Somme, Gallipoli and Flanders, and on to postings in India. It concludes with the poignant story of the 1920 Mutiny and Disbandment in 1922, and includes profiles of notable figures such as Lt. Col. Jourdain, Lt. Col. Pierce Joyce, Major Robert Gregory M.C. and Sgt. William Hurley. Together, the panels portray both the history and the personal stories of those who served in this famous
regiment.
Launched in March 2024 at the Ardilaun Hotel, Galway, Ranging Memories attracted a large crowd, including descendants of Rangers, and sparked immediate interest from heritage groups across the province, with many visitors discovering the regiment’s distinguished history for the first time.
Mr. P J Maloney, Chairman of the Connaught Rangers Association, will officially launch Ranging Memories exhibition at Ostyn Hall, Kylemore Abbey, Kylemore, Connemara, Co. Galway, H91 VR90 on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The event begins at 3pm with a short talk on ‘Why and how we remember the Connaught Rangers’.
Local historian Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill will also give a talk on locals who served during WW1. The exhibition will run for three weeks.
Free admission. All welcome.
Heritage groups and organisations interested in hosting the exhibition are invited to contact the Connaught Rangers Association Secretary at secretary@connaughtrangersassoc.com
or by post to CRA Secretary, King House, Boyle, Co. Roscommon.
Follow the Connaught Rangers Association on social media and its website for updates on future venues.
www.connaughtrangersassoc.com
Lt-Col HFNJourdain (centre) and officers of 5th Battalion Connaught Rangers at Gallipoli, 1915
The capture of the Jingling Johnny by the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) at the Battle of Salamanca, 1812
