2026-06-16

I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity. This matter is obviously about Kilmainham Gaol and the board of visitors. I am not sure if the Minister of State knows the back story to all this, but Kilmainham Gaol itself has witnessed so much of modern Irish politics and history. It has covered everything from the United Irishmen to the Fenians, the Invincibles, the Famine and the Land League. It has a place in all our hearts and in hearts abroad. A committee of trustees and voluntary workers, including my uncle Charlie, aka the suicide roofer, broke down the gates in 1960 and restored the prison from a state of complete ruin between the years 1960 and 1986. At that time, the then Minister of State, Brian Hayes, set up a board of visitors to take over from the trustees. There were a lot of politics going on at the time but he decided to establish it to represent the interests of the trustees and voluntary workers who had restored the prison. As a member of the board, having been appointed for two consecutive terms - it is a five-year term - I and the board have approached the Minister of State, Deputy Boxer Moran, and the OPW for an event, which is what we are tasked with and is in our terms of reference, to honour those volunteers and their families. We reprinted the book, Ghosts of Kilmainham, which details the activities from 1963 onwards - and the prisoners - within the walls of that at-times fairly scary place. However, I feel we have been treated quite disrespectfully. We have had no communication from either party. This has gone on for almost over two years, and we are trying to gather the families. As the Minister of State can imagine, there are very few volunteers left. There is only one I can think of, who is the chair, and that is Damien Cassidy. I ask the Minister of State to please give a nudge to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, and the OPW.

I am here to support Deputy Devine's call. Her uncle was one of those who was involved directly in the restoration project, a huge undertaking by a voluntary committee which did what the State had promised to do from the thirties, forties and fifties. They said that they would do it at no cost to the State. A group of men mainly - there are women in some of photographs - helped to clear the prison which had been abandoned from 1929 onwards despite requests in the thirties for it to be handed over to be a museum or a memorial of prisons and a memorial of the patriotic struggle. It was agreed even though not every party at the time agreed with it. The Labour Party in particular in the fifties thought this was a madcap scheme. We know now that it was not. It is one of the most, if not the most, sought-after tourist attractions. Those men in the early 1960s and before had a vision that people would come to look at this and would respect our history. It is not just the history of the patriotic struggle; it is the history of imprisonment. That can be seen in the way it was used as a film location because it is reflective of prisons of an era. There were a lot of hangings there, including hangings of women. There were executions of republican soldiers by the British but also by the new State. They are remembered in the museum that is attached to it now. Anybody who has gone on a tour appreciates the work done. The problem at the moment is that the OPW does not seem to appreciate that when it was handed over to it in 1986 it agreed there would be a board of visitors which would be reflective of the families who did this restoration. That was one of the conditions.

I am very grateful to Deputies Devine and Ó Snodaigh for raising this important matter and for their continued personal and political interest in Kilmainham Gaol and its remarkable history. I did enjoy some of the interventions this evening. I was not aware of Labour Party’s opposition in the 1950s. That is a slight on me and our former coalition friends. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, has asked me to read a couple things into the record, which is not for the Deputies’ benefit, as they can understand, but it is for the Chamber’s benefit as a whole. I know what I am about to read contains information they both know, having been intimately involved in it for a long time. For the benefit of the House, Kilmainham Gaol occupies a unique place in Ireland's national story. The Office of Public Works recognises not only the significance of the gaol itself, but also the extraordinary contribution made by the members of the Kilmainham Gaol Restoration Society and the many volunteers whose commitment and dedication helped to rescue the building from dereliction and secure its future for generations to come. As alluded to by Deputy Devine, following the transfer of the gaol to State care in 1986, a board of visitors was established to maintain a connection with those individuals and to provide an independent forum through which observations and recommendations relating to the gaol could be conveyed to the Minister. The board operates on a non-statutory basis and has no formal executive, management or governance role in the operation of the site. Rather, its purpose has been advisory in nature, providing an independent perspective on the condition, use and interpretation of Kilmainham Gaol. The most recent board of visitors was appointed in late 2019 for a five-year term. Throughout its existence, the board has operated on a voluntary basis and has provided an important link to those involved in the restoration and preservation of the gaol. The contribution of its members over many years is acknowledged and appreciated by the OPW and the Minister of State, Deputy Moran. It will continue to receive the support that is required. In relation to the publication of Ghosts of Kilmainham, the Minister of State wishes to acknowledge the significance of the work and the valuable record it provides of the restoration of Kilmainham Gaol and the people who made that achievement possible. The publication continues to be available to visitors and remains an important part of the historical record of the site. Proposals regarding an OPW-sponsored relaunch event for the publication have been considered. However, as the publication has been available for a number of years and continues to be available, it has been decided that an OPW-sponsored relaunch event will not proceed. The OPW remains committed to ensuring that the role of the restoration society and the many volunteers associated with the restoration of Kilmainham Gaol is appropriately recognised through the interpretation and presentation of the site and through ongoing engagement with interested stakeholders. I assure the Deputies that the Minister of State and the OPW greatly value the contribution made by those who helped to save Kilmainham Gaol and remain committed to preserving and presenting this important national monument to the highest standards. In the last month I had the good fortune to bring my children there for the first time. I know I join everyone in the House who is absolutely spellbound by the story that it tells, the importance of that story to our history and the importance of making sure that story is fully accessible to all, particularly our younger generation. I will do anything I can do to assist the Deputies, through the OPW or otherwise, to make sure that it is preserved.

As the Minister of State can imagine, I am gobsmacked and very disappointed. I find the response very disrespectful to me as a family member of an individual who spent over 700 hours doing the roof of Kilmainham Gaol. It is extremely disrespectful to us, the families and the volunteers who are still around. The late Garret FitzGerald at the time said that the trustees were to provide advice, and to organise events and commemorative ceremonies to honour those who suffered and died in the prison. That is what the board of visitors are trying to do. We are being given the flipping finger by the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, the OPW or whoever has made that disgraceful decision. Surely they would be honoured to actually be part of what is our history and to pass it down to the next generation and the generation after. It is absolutely outrageous and I cannot think I would let that rest.

I am also gobsmacked. It is very strange because it would not cost anything to facilitate the board of visitors. The venue is there to launch the book which has been republished as a new issue. There have been private launches of books and other events in the gaol. It is a great venue to have anything. Even though it is for sale in the museum shop in the old courthouse, it still deserves to be pushed again so that the public outside, those who do not get one of the golden tickets to attend Kilmainham Gaol, can be encouraged. So much can be said. In fairness, the Labour Party view in 1954 was that this is all nonsense, that these schemes are nonsense. There is a very interesting list of the work the volunteers carried out, down to the hours. As Máire said, her uncle spent 720 hours and that was in the first two years. They thought it would take five years and it took six or seven. The history is absolutely fantastic. I cannot find the quote now, but there is a quote from somebody early on that this was one of the best practical restorations they had seen and that we could do a lot more to encourage them. However, being rejected afterwards is the problem. There is no mention in the response as to when the new board will be put in place. It is out of office at this stage.

I completely understand the frustration and indeed anger of the Deputies and I do not contest it in any way. As a young history undergraduate student, I spent hours and hours - not quite 700 hours - in the gaol itself carrying out my own primary research and it was invaluable. I have a well-thumbed copy of Ghosts of Kilmainham. It was not actually mine originally; it was my sister’s. She also studied history, albeit she was smarter than me and got into Trinity College. Regarding the points made by the Deputies, while there are no plans to proceed with an OPW-sponsored relaunch event, the importance of the publication and the historical record contained in it is fully acknowledged. The publication continues and will continue to be available and remains an important account of the restoration story of Kilmainham Gaol. We are not going to resolve this situation this evening. I do not believe the Deputies expect me to resolve it. Unfortunately, I am just in the firing line of their ire. That is the lot I have drawn this evening. However, I will write to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, asking to arrange an urgent deputation meeting, involving him, the Deputies and the other interested party. That is the best I can do in the position I have. I give them my absolute commitment to do that. I have absolute sympathy for the case they have raised.