Mr. Michael Parsons:

I will begin with the Senator's final question. As far as links with second level education are concerned, the second level principals' association nominated me in 2012 to go on the board in the first place. It sent me as an emissary to try to get heritage more closely linked with second level education. I was a founder member and later the chairman of the arts, heritage and cultural committee of the principals' association. Every year, we have creative engagement in more than 100 of the 700 second level schools. Separately, in counties Laois and Offaly I initiated a heritage programme in primary and second level schools, which is being considered as a pilot by the Heritage Council. It covers Laois, Offaly and north Tipperary at present. We intend to expand it to County Kildare and if it works well we will expand it nationally.

The Senator's other question was on community. I have always believed in the importance of community, being a vocational school principal where the school operates night and day. We had approximately 1,000 night students in the school so it was always a central hub of the community. My eyes were opened fully with the reaching out programme and how the community responded in its own way to the commemoration of 1916 in 2016 and adopted it themselves. The community is amazing. During heritage week, I was invited to an event in Geashill in County Offaly. The community was commemorating the battle of Geashill, of which I had never heard, which took place in 1699. I arrived there to find a community hall packed with 200 people. The chairman of Offaly County Council addressed it. The Royal Irish Academy confirmed the book written was "kosher", if I may use that expression.