Vol. 542 No. 5
399 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the persons executed in Mountjoy Jail whose remains are still buried within the prison grounds; if he proposes to offer the families or descendants of those so interred the opportunity of having the remains reburied outside the prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25035/01]
Prison records over the entire life of Mountjoy Prison since 1850 are incomplete. The indications are, however, that the remains of everyone executed there between 1900 and 1954, with the exception of remains of persons executed during the period of Civil War, were buried in the grounds of the prison in unmarked graves. The only graves in respect of which a precise record was kept were those of the ten volunteers executed in the 1920-21 period and exhumed in recent months at the request of their families. There is no request from any quarter for the exhumation of the remains of any other person interred at the prison. Even if such a request were to be made, there would be significant obstacles to the successful exhumation and identification of such remains.
