Tourism is such an important part of the Irish economy. It is such an important industry. More needs to be done to develop it, especially in my own city of Cork. In 1916, Thomas Kent's home was raided and his brother was seriously injured. He and his brothers were taken away. Thomas Kent was convicted and found guilty by the British. He was later shot in the grounds of the old Cork prison in the Glen. That was on 9 May 1916. He was the only person from Cork to be shot and executed as part of the 1916 Rising. For 99 years, his body was buried in that prison's grounds. That should be a historic centre. It is not just Thomas Kent was executed on that site; he was also imprisoned there. This is a building that should now be used not just for the community but for tourism. There is the likes of Ardmhéara Tomás MacCurtain who was shot in his bed by the British and the Irish Royal Constabulary, IRC. There was Terence MacSwiney who died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison. There were the Wallace sisters, the Delaney brothers and Ballycannon boys. It goes on and on. The republican history in Cork is immense but we have nowhere for people to go to learn about it. A number of months ago I met a family who had returned from America, one of whom was the granddaughter of a volunteer who had brought back the medal he got for fighting for Irish independence. Members of the Irish diaspora, no matter where they are in the world and no matter where they have migrated to, have stories about home. When they come back here to visit they want to go to a diaspora centre. A huge number of people left for the four corners of the world from Cork Harbour but when they come back, there is nowhere for them to go to trace their heritage or learn about the proud republican history that we have. What I want to see is investment in Cork. There is an independent councillor in Cork, Kieran McCarthy, who runs walking tours around the city. There is brilliant take-up but we need much more of that. We need the buy-in. There is huge interest in historical tourism. People want to find out what is really behind the Irish. Whether it is our republican history, the arts or our authors, we have a product here. A lot of it is in Dublin and it is great to see but I am looking for investment in Cork. We have Shandon Tower and I am looking for investment in that area and in Cork more generally. We have one of the most iconic buildings in Shandon but it is not being utilised to the maximum. We have the Butter Museum. Butter was brought from all over Munster, but especially from Kerry and Cork, to the butter market in Cork when the British ruled us, and it was sent from there to the four corners of the world. From an agricultural and historical point of view, Shandon should be utilised more. However, I am not impressed with the way this Government has acted around Moore Street, the GPO and the two new prisons that are going into the old prison site. It is time to stand up for our heritage. Let us be proud that we are Irish republicans. Let us be proud of the fight for Irish freedom and let the world know about it.

Sentiment score: 0.01