A call to build an all-Ireland military history museum at the site of the Battle of the Boyne has been put forward as a project that could benefit from the Republic's €65 billion budget surplus.
A cross-border heritage and environment group has said a world-class military museum at the site near Oldbridge in Co Meath should be built as a tourist draw.
The call follows Dublin Green Party TD Patrick Costello urging the Republic to make July 12 a bank holiday as part of a "major step" to unite the people of Ireland.
The Battle for the Boyne group, which was set up in 2001 and has campaigned to protect the environmental heritage of the Boyne Valley area in Co Meath, previously called for a new museum to accompany the existing Battle of the Boyne visitor centre in 2019.
The group, which previously led a campaign against a planned waste incinerator in the area in the early 2000s, said a new museum dedicated to Irish military history would be an ideal project for the Irish government to invest in.
Dublin's Department of Finance has forecast a €65 billion budget surplus by 2026, and Battle for the Boyne forum director Brian Hanratty said a new museum could be financed from it, in order to create a tourist attraction that could draw visitors from both sides of the border and beyond.
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The Battle of the Boyne in 1960 between William of Orange's army and troops loyal to King James II is commemorated each year by the Orange Order and supporters in the north, and is the basis of Twelfth of July celebrations.
“There is huge potential to expand on both the story of the largest and most famous battle fought on Irish soil - the Battle of the Boyne - as well as presenting Ireland’s military history and legends throughout the ages, and to do it in a sensitive manner,” Mr Hanratty said.
"Too often we tend to think only about battles and campaigns fought on Irish soil and forget about the role the Irish played elsewhere, in two World Wars and in the British army and navy and others across Europe and the Americas over the centuries."
