A yacht which played a key role in the Irish battle for independence goes on permanent display at the National Museum of Ireland.
The Asgard was used by Erskine Childers and wife Molly for gun running off the coast of Howth in the run up to the 1916 Rising. In 1914 it sailed into Howth Harbour with nine hundred rifles and twenty-nine thousand rounds of ammunition. These were the guns that were used in the 1916 Rising and during the Civil War.
It's actually more than a century old and has an iconic place in Irish history.
Raghnall Ó Floinn of the National Museum talks about the history of the Asgard and the part it played in the fight for Irish freedom.
Acquired by the State in the 1960s the Asgard was used for sail training and later installed in Kilmainham Gaol. The process of conserving the Asgard took five years, with the objective of keeping as many of the original features. John Kearon, shipwright and ship conservator, describes the process of conserving a vessel that is over a hundred years old.
Nessa Childers Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and granddaughter of Erskine Childers, says it is wonderful for the museum to have the Asgard and important on a personal level for her and her family.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 8 August 2012. The reporter is Samantha Libreri.
