OPW says Invincibles grave ‘should not be disturbed’ at Kilmainham

The Office of Public Works has written to Fingal County Council saying that the remains of the five Invincibles “should not be disturbed” following a campaign calling for the bodies to re-exhumed from Kilmainham Gaol to Glasnevin.

The Invincibles, Joe Brady, Daniel Curry, Michael Fagan, Thomas Caffrey and Tim Kelly, were Irish republicans who were hanged by the British Government for their involvement in the murders of two British statesmen in Phoenix Park in 1883.

The men’s remains were then interned in the grounds of Kilmainham Gaol.

However, in recent years the National Graves Association has been campaigning for the remains to exhumed and buried in Glasnevin Cemetery with other notable Irish republicans.

The OPW, which operates and manages Kilmainham Gaol says that the project is “sensitive” in nature.

“The Office of Public Works is aware of the current campaign led by the National Graves Association to exhume and reinter the five people known as the Invincibles in Glasnevin Cemetery,” said the Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan in a letter to Fingal County Council.

“Requests such as this are of a very sensitive and delicate nature and there are a number of matters to consider, both in terms of the significant practicalities involved and the ethical issues.

“While the general area of the site of the graves in Kilmainham is relatively well known, there is no detailed plan showing definitively exactly where individuals were interred and even were it to be precisely located, there would be practical issues involved in positively identifying the remains.

“It is understood from contemporaneous accounts that after execution, the remains were buried in quicklime and this would render an exhumation and positive identification very difficult, if not impossible.”

Minister O’Donovan says that Kilmainham Gaol holds significant historical importance and is a suitable resting place for the men.

“Kilmainham Gaol is a National Monument and an iconic and much respected site in the context of the national independence struggle in particular.

“The fact that it is also a grave location adds a significant resonance to its penal and historical significance and there is a strong opposing view to the current campaign that believes that the grave should not be disturbed and the remains should be left within the confines of the monument.

“Finally, The Office of Public Works clearly understands that any move to undertake an exhumation and re-interral project would certainly not be undertaken unilaterally and would have to be considered and approved in the first instance as a policy matter, which is outside our remit.

“I trust this clarifies the position.”