Irish people have had a presence in India since at least the 17th century, whether as soldiers, administrators, doctors or missionaries. Many were part of Britain’s imperial apparatus, but others threw themselves into the fight for Indian independence and women’s rights. The Irish-descended Annie Besant established the All-India Home Rule League in 1916, and a year later became the first female president of the Indian National Congress. Margaret Cousins, a Roscommon-born suffrage campaigner, helped found the Women’s Indian Association in 1917 and worked closely with such activists as Muthulakshmi Reddy and Sarojini Naidu. Just as Irish republicans like Éamon de Valera stressed the common cause of Ireland and India, Bengali freedom fighters drew comparisons between our colonial experiences. Today, Indian nationals are among the fastest-growing diasporas in Ireland, but Indian migration to this country stretches back much further in time. Sake Dean Mahomet was one of a number of Indians to settle in Ireland in the 1700s after contact with the East India Company. A century later, Mir Aulad Ali, a scholar from modern-day Uttar Pradesh, was appointed professor of Arabic, Hindustani and Persian at Trinity College Dublin. Looking East: Ireland and India highlights the diverse historic ties between our two nations, as well as exploring what it means to be Irish and Indian in the current day. Image Caption: Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, with Éamon de Valera and Lady Edwina Mountbatten in Delhi during de Valera's 1948 anti-partition tour. Credit: UCD Archives. Entry to exhibition included with regular museum admission ticket.

Address
Co. Dublin – Dublin City