THE Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, has rejected the advice of his own Heritage Council on the future of the historic "gun runner", the Asgard.
The council, which was established as an advisory body to Mr Higgins, had expressed support for plans by a group of enthusiasts to restore the 28 ton yacht and return it to sea.
Built as a wedding gift in 1904, the vessel was once owned by Robert Erskine Childers, and became a household name when it landed 90 rifles and 29,000 rounds of ammunition at Howth, Co Dublin, in 1914 for the Irish Volunteers. It is designated as a national monument, and is currently in a yard at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin.
"We are disappointed that the Minister has chosen not to follow our advice, but then he is not obliged to take it," Ms Beatrice Kelly, the council's communication and education officer, told The Irish Times. The Heritage Council had met members of the Asgard Restoration Project and bad been "very impressed" with their plans, she said. It wrote to the Minister to express its support.
The Minister is understood to favour conservation, rather than restoration, of the yacht, with a view to transferring it from Kilmainham to the new National Museum premises at Collins Barracks on the Liffey. "Boats can be living artefacts and we would like to see it on the water," Ms Kelly said.
The Minister's plans have received the support of the Department of Defence, as the owner the vessel. The white yacht, which was built by a world leading designer, Colin Archer, was given on an indefinite loan by the Department to the Kilmainham Gaol Restoration Society in 1979. For some years previously, it had served as the State's first sail training vessel until the Asgard II was commissioned from Tyrrells boatyard in Arklow, Co Wicklow. In 1986 it was returned to the State by the Gaol Society, and the Office of Public Works assumed responsibility.
A spokesman for the Minister said that an experienced marine surveyor had carried out a thorough assessment of the craft. It was felt that restoration would involve extensive replacement of original timber, due to shrinkage, while conservation would preserve it in its original state. However, the Asgard Restoration Project believes it deserves better than to be consigned to a "glass case" in Collins Barracks.
The Asgard Restoration Project has considerable expertise within its membership, and has received the support of Dr John de Courcy Ireland, maritime historian; Mr Tim Severin, author and adventurer; Dr Peter Harbison, archaeologist and author; Prof Frank Convery of the Heritage Trust and University College, Dublin; Mrs Muriel McCarthy, curator of Marsh's Library; and Mr Paddy Shaffrey, architect, town planner and member of the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Board.
The project is chaired by Mr Arthur Hughes of Raheny, Dublin, who has sailed and owned traditional craft since the early 1940s, and it includes Capt Eric Healy, master mariner and former skipper of Asgard I and Asgard II; Mr Tim Magennis, former publicity consultant to Bord Failte and circumnavigator on the Colin Archer built Sandefjord; Capt Peter Brown, extra master mariner and relief master on Asgard II; and Galway hooker skippers, Mr Mick Hunt of Howth and Mr Ben McDonagh of Portmarnock.
