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.

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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.

Sentiment score: 0.08