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.

Sentiment score: 0.03

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.

Sentiment score: -0.13