Republican leaders featured in new Stormont exhibition

Portraits of Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera are on display at Stormont

Portraits of republican leaders Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera have been put up at Stormont as part of a new permanent display.

They are among dozens of pictures of politicians from all sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland added to the Stormont corridors.

In 1921, both men were elected to the first Northern Ireland parliament but refused to take their seats.

They opposed the partition of Ireland and pushed for Irish independence.

A century later, they have been included at Stormont as part of a new display entitled Parliament Buildings - a Journey of People, Politics and Peacebuilding.

Michael Collins was one of the most prominent figures in the Irish revolution

Other images on display include:

• A portrait of the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Lord Craigavon

• A portrait of Joe Devlin, nationalist elected to 1921 parliament

• A portrait of Dehra Chichester, the first female cabinet minister in 1949

• A picture of David Trimble and John Hume receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998

• A picture of Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams following the St Andrews Agreement in 2007

Dehra Chichester was the first female cabinet minister

The display contains a range of original and copy portraits, plus photographs and artefacts.

Some of the items are going on show for the first time having been moved out of storage or non-public areas.

In total, approximately 100 different images and items are now on display at Stormont.

The exhibition also features a portrait of David Trimble

The initiative was agreed by the Assembly Commission which includes representatives from the five largest parties.

It also includes pictures or portraits of the six unionist Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1972.

Speaker of the assembly, Alex Maskey, officially opened the display at a reception on Wednesday evening.

Historian Eamon Phoenix spoke with Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey at the event

"I am pleased that we will now have a permanent collection of images and items on display that will depict key political figures and events from over the years," he said.

"It is also important that this project has attempted to tell the story of our political institutions and reflect the breadth and diversity of political views here."

The display will be open to the public from Monday 28 March.