Additional Questions

The initial consultation for the National Centre for Research and Remembrance ran from 25 July to 15 September 2023, with a view to informing work on elements of the National Centre project, including the garden space for reflection and remembrance.

The responses from this consultation will directly inform the ongoing work on the development of the garden space on the National Centre campus. Further engagement will take place on different elements of the Centre including the garden space, as the project progresses.

Spaces in the National Centre may feature new artworks and support creative practice. There is potential to commission artworks and creative projects on behalf of the National Centre, with a focus on works by survivors and affected people, many of whom are artists themselves, as well as on socially engaged practices. The creative practices represented in the National Centre could include a variety of media, such as visual and digital art, sculpture, written work and poetry, performing arts, or other forms.

The masterplan sets out the floorplans of the campus facilities, including:

• Archive and museum space within the historic convent and chapel buildings;
• Newly-built archive and museum space adjacent to the historic buildings, encompassing a garden space for reflection and remembrance;
• Purpose-built facilities for further and higher education and for community-based family and parenting supports; and
• 18 Units of disability-friendly, universal design social housing.

You can view the floorplans at this link and some further information on each of the elements can be found in this detailed document here. Please note that these may be subject to change.

The National Centre campus will include facilities offering space for performance, lectures, seminars or functions.

It is expected that a number of employment opportunities will be available for survivors in the National Centre. The Steering Group has considered the museum and archive elements as well as the community elements of the National Centre campus for potential opportunities. Further considerations will take place as the project progresses.

As well as a permanent and well-designed exhibition space, and a number of different spaces capable of accommodating temporary exhibitions, meeting spaces, function rooms and performance/gallery/lecture spaces will be included in the development of the National Centre.

The need for the National Centre to be a welcoming, supportive and trauma-informed space for survivors and affected persons is recognised by the Steering Group.

The Centre will be a trauma-informed environment with staff from the museum and archive trained appropriately, as it relates to their role.

The Commemorative Grant Scheme will be expanded to provide dedicated grants to support survivors and affected persons in other parts of Ireland and overseas to visit the Centre. The Commemorative Grant Scheme currently supports survivor-centred advocacy organisations in commemorating their experiences in a way of their own choosing and is managed by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. Further information is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/commemorativegrantscheme.

The potential for outreach, regional and international connections will be an important element of the National Centre, when established. As promised in the whole of Government Action Plan, the potential for online access to content will also be explored.

The National Archives will also lead a digitisation programme, which will assist those outside of Ireland in accessing their records.

The Commemorative Grant Scheme will be expanded to provide dedicated grants to support survivors in other parts of Ireland and overseas to visit the Centre.

There will be engagement with local museums and community spaces, like libraries and archives, and travelling exhibitions to ensure people can access museum content from different locations. This content will be co-curated with survivors and will form an important element of the overall programme for the National Centre. As promised in the whole of Government Action Plan, the potential for online access to content will also be explored.

The Commemorative Grant Scheme managed by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality will be expanded to provide dedicated grants to support survivors in other parts of Ireland and overseas to visit the Centre.

The Steering Group will liaise with the Working Group on Local Memorialisation to ensure alignment between the National Centre, local memorialisation initiatives and the commemorative grant scheme.

The presentation from the in-person engagement events which took place between October 2024 and February 2025 is available here. Further information related to these events is available to view on the Consultation and Engagement webpage of the National Centre website.

National Centre team contact information

Email: nationalcentre@dcde.gov.ie

Phone: Ireland: 01 647 3200 / Overseas: +353 1 6473200

Address: Memorialisation and Historic Burials Unit, Department of Children,

Disability and Equality, Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50-58 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2.

D02 XWI4, Freepost F5055

National Museum of Ireland team contact information

Email: ncrr@museum.ie

Phone: Ireland: 01 6486426/ Overseas: +353 1 6486426

Text: Ireland: 087 4281737/ Overseas: +353 87 4281737

Special Advocate team contact information

Email: advisorycouncil@specialadvocate.ie

Phone: +353 (0)1 511 7660

Postal Address: Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse, First Floor, Holbrook House, Holles Street, Dublin 2, D02 EY84, Ireland

Website: https://www.specialadvocate.ie/

National Archives of Ireland contact information

Address: National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin D08 DF85

Phone: +353 (0)1 407 2300

Email: query@nationalarchives.ie