There are two new faces at the Inniskillings Museum and the pair are keen to increase visitor numbers and reach new audiences by promoting the many fascinating stories of young local soldiers, forced to "grow up pretty quickly" on battle fields across the world including the Somme, Gallipoli, Waterloo and St. Lucia.

Neil Armstrong is the newly appointed Curator-Manager, taking over from Major Dunlop who retired last October.

From Lisnarick, Neil previously worked in the Fermanagh County Museum before moving to Roscommon to take up a management role in King House (home of the Connaught Rangers Museum and the Boyle Civic Collection). He was then responsible for leading a team in the initial set-up of the Є8 million visitor centre and attractions at Lough Key Forest and Activity Park. Neil then managed Lissan House and Demense near Cookstown which opened its doors in Easter 2012.

He admits that he "always wanted to come back to Fermanagh," adding: "When this opportunity came up, I threw everything I had at it." Neil is "honoured" by the appointment, saying: "It's a very important time for the museum as the county approaches commemorations for the centenary of World War One and the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and I feel very privileged to be here for that."

Natasha Martin has been appointed as Museum Assistant, tasked with looking after research and education. From Newbliss, County Monaghan, Natasha spent her early years in London before completing a degree in European Studies and French at Durham University. More recently, she completed a Masters in Digital Humanities at NUI Maynooth. Her experience of digitisation and dealing with digital archives will be an invaluable asset for the museum as research becomes increasingly technology centred. She has close family ties to Fermanagh and says: "Being from Monaghan and having ties to Fermanagh, I've always been interested in the history of the border counties."

Natasha has worked extensively with museums throughout Ireland, including Monaghan County Museum and Cavan County Museum. Her parents and brother work in the museum industry too. She is hoping to build on the current offerings for schools and will be contacting teachers in the area over the coming months.

Neil tells The Impartial Reporter: "I want to capitalise on the great work that has already been done here by staff and volunteers.

"We've got a fantastic band of volunteers and without them the museum couldn't operate. They work a colossal amount of hours and bring such knowledge and skill base."

Looking at the commercial side of the operation, Neil notes: "Museums have to look at the bottom line unfortunately so I am keen to examine event programming and increase our profile."

This includes branding the Inniskillings Museum and Fermanagh County Museum as 'Enniskillen Castle Museums' in order to ensure joint information for tourists, mindful of the fact they are two different museums. Targeting new audiences via social media is also on the agenda and the Inniskillings Museum can now be followed on Facebook (www.facebook.com/inniskillingsmuseum) and Twitter (@Inniskillings). Interesting facts, stories and competitions are on the way and Natasha states: "It's for us to show what happens here; that we are not just a sleepy museum."

"Enniskillen has the unique honour of being the only town in Great Britain and Ireland to give its name to two regiments, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (infantry) and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards (cavalry). A visit to the Inniskillings Museum is a journey through more than 300 years of world history as encountered by these two famous regiments," Neil explains.

Pointing to the medieval Keep which is housed within the walls of Enniskillen Castle (once the medieval stronghold of the Maguires - the Gaelic chiefs of County Fermanagh), Neil adds: "We've got these fantastic assets. It's about making people proud of having it here.

"We've got this amazing museum in the birthplace of the regiment," says Neil, referring to the raising of the Inniskillingers in Enniskillen in 1688, in defence of their town against the threat of occupation by the forces of James II.

Walking through the old cavalry stables housing displays which tell the story of the regiments from their formation up to modern times, Neil outlines the "humbling" practicalities of war.

"We can't comprehend what these young men, many country boys aged as young as 17, had to face on the battlefield. As well as fight, they had to deal with things like rat infestation, trench foot and where to bury the horses that were massacred during battle. These men had to grow up pretty quickly and, faced with the same thing now, we would be useless. They became heroes," he states.

Forthcoming events include Living History demonstrations at Enniskillen Castle on 25 May to mark St. Lucia Day, when in 1796 the twenty-seventh had its Regimental Colour raised on the captured fortress for one hour prior to the hoisting of the Union Flag, a distinction accorded to no other Regiment before or since. The family-orientated day will include a canon expert, drums and fifes and dress up for the kids.

A number of G8 events will take place in June (see facebook and twitter for updates). This includes extra opening hours on Saturdays and Sundays in the first three weekends in June, including free entry on Sunday 2nd, 9th and 16th.

A new temporary exhibition on technology and the Crimean War will open on 1st July. Recognised as the first 'modern' war, the Crimean War ran from October 1853 to February 1856, and saw technical changes which affected the future course of warfare. This included the first tactical use of railways, electric telegraph, and reporting of day-to-day realities, by William Russell for The Times with photographs by Roger Fenton.

"This was the war which made female nurses such as Florence Nightingale famous," Natasha adds. "We will also look at the role of women in that war and will add to our current piece on the pregnant wife of Fusilier Peter McMullan, who came onto the battlefield to save her husband's life."

In advance of the commemorations, Natasha will also be tasked with researching and taking forward the Inniskillings Museum Trace a Relative facility. It will be accessible from 1 June.

Urging locals and visitors to visit, Neil concludes: "We've got something very special down here. This has huge potential to be a signature project for the county's history and the location is priceless."