Ms Catherine Heaney:

Senator Byrne raised a very important issue. The cultural institutions, including the National Museum of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland and others, store the records, and sometimes the records speak for themselves and people can have their views on those records but it is a very important reference point. The fact that we are now open means people can come and view our exhibitions. We have updated our galleries to reflect some of the key moments, particularly towards the closing of the decade of centenaries. We are working with the national museum in Northern Ireland, with some sharing of collections. That was a development during the decade of centenaries that has brought us closer together. If people get the chance, now that we can move about more freely, they should visit the museum in Belfast which has an incredible exhibition on partition and on conflict, which was a celebration of the Good Friday Agreement. How they did it, in terms of consultation and recognition of the cultural differences, is really a credit to it. Sometimes museums, because they work to what is in the collections, can be very good places to represent different views and different histories. While museums have a role in commemoration they must also use interpretations to look at and learn from history and plan for the future.

Dr. Whitty may have something to say because the Michael Collins's slippers are clearly one of the parts of the national collection that are nearly more important to people than any of the key events that happened in 1922 and leading up to the establishment of the Free State. There has been more public interest in the slippers than there has been in some of the other key events. It is a really important piece, and it is important it was raised today.