Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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214. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he can acknowledge receipt of communication on 7 March 2025 from the Invincibles Interment Campaign, which is seeking the reinterment to Glasnevin cemetery of the remains of the Fenians currently buried in the grounds of the now Kilmainham Gaol Museum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25000/25]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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I can confirm that the Office of Public Works has received correspondence dated 7 March 2025 from the Invincibles Interment Campaign.

Kilmainham Gaol, National Monument 675, opened in 1796 as the new County Gaol for Dublin and closed in 1924. Today the building symbolises the tradition of militant and constitutional nationalism from the rebellion of 1798 to the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. Leaders of the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 were detained and in some cases executed here.

As previously outlined to stakeholders through Parliamentary Questions and other representations, a proposal of this nature is extremely sensitive and involves a range of complex legal, historical, ethical and political considerations. While the general area where burials are believed to have taken place within Kilmainham is broadly understood, no definitive records exist indicating the exact location or identity of individual remains. Even if such identification were possible, there would be significant practical challenges involved.

The Office of Public Works does not have statutory authority under the National Monuments Acts to initiate a reinterment or to act unilaterally in such a matter. That responsibility lies with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Furthermore, the question of whether the OPW should be formally tasked with any feasibility study would be a matter for decision at the highest levels of Government, and such a feasibility study would have to address in full the complex legal, historical and ethical issues involved and would need to be considered within the appropriate statutory and governance frameworks.

Finally, I note the request from the campaign for a meeting at Kilmainham Gaol with relatives of the Invincibles and representatives of the National Graves Association. I have asked my officials to make direct contact with those groups and to make arrangements for meetings.