National Centre – consultation and engagement

It is crucial that the National Centre project is informed by all relevant stakeholders as part of the process. As such, there has been an initial, written consultation, followed by in-person events with the local community in the North-East Inner City, and with survivors, affected people and their families and advocates. Further consultations and engagement, on other specific elements of the Centre will take place in due course, with related updates posted on this page.

One of the key commitments arising from the initial written consultation in 2023 was that in-person events would be held so that survivors and affected persons, and their family members and advocates, could hear about and give feedback on the National Centre for Research and Remembrance.

Events took place in Dublin on 22 October 2024, Galway on 14 November 2024, Cork on 19 November 2024, online on 19 February 2025 and London on 25 February 2025. Attendees at these events heard about plans for the buildings on the National Centre site, work to date on the development of the archival repository, and examples of other survivor-led exhibition and memorialisation spaces. Attendees also had an opportunity to participate in discussions about what they would like to see contained in the National Centre.

Feedback was received from attendees in a number of ways including in person and via written feedback cards at the events, and through follow-up communications from attendees to the organisations involved, such as the National Museum, National Archives and Special Advocate’s Office.

This feedback has been captured in a report prepared by the Special Advocate’s Office, with detailed feedback- in survivor’s own words- arranged in seven key themes. The report is available to view here . The Steering Group has reviewed this report and committed to actions to address each theme which will help to inform the ongoing work on the National Centre, and future engagement. This response document is available to view here and a summary infographic is available here.

Most notable of the actions is that the Steering Group itself – which is responsible for developing the overall vision of the Centre - will be expanded to include four survivor representatives. These representatives will be full members of the Steering Group, alongside the Special Advocate for Survivors and members from Government departments and agencies. An open process will be announced shortly to allow survivors and affected persons to express an interest in being one of the survivor representatives on the Steering Group. Further updates will be published on this page once announced.

Some other key commitments include:

• The establishment of dedicated panels of survivors and affected persons by the National Museum of Ireland, to inform the development of the museum element of the National Centre.
• A central role for survivors in the governance of the National Centre, once it opens.
• The finalisation of a process to allow survivors and affected persons to share their lived experience – and/or physical items - with the National Museum, if they wish to do so.
• The design of a programme to capture and gather survivor’s personal statements or records as part of the institutional records of the National Archives or to deposit them as private papers.
• Engagement with local museums and community spaces, like libraries, and travelling exhibitions to ensure people can access museum content from different locations.
• Ongoing work on the digitisation of records, to allow those who can’t visit the National Centre to access their records.

The presentation from the in person engagement events is available here

Graphic recorders were also present at the in-person events capturing feedback. You can find the results for each location below.

Dublin

Cork

Galway

London

In July 2024, Dublin City Council, who sit on the Steering Group, ran a local community information day on site in Sean McDermott Street. The aim of this event was to ensure that interested people in the local community in Dublin’s North-East Inner City had an opportunity to hear about plans, including in relation to the provision of further and higher education and of community-based family and parenting supports on the site. A second open day for the local community is planned to take place in July. Further information on this will be published once available.

A briefing to the North East Inner City Initiative’s Project Implementation Board (PIB) and subgroups took place in March 2025. The aim of the briefing was to provide information of progress to date on the project and the services which will be provided on the National Centre campus. This briefing will help to ensure the community in the North East Inner City is well-informed about the development.

Further engagement will take place with the local community as the project progresses.

An initial, open consultation on the National Centre ran from July to September 2023. Almost 220 responses were received and an independent research company analysed these responses and prepared a detailed report. The report is available to view here and a summary of the infographic is available here.

The Steering Group for the National Centre took some time to review this report in detail and agreed key commitments as the project moves forward. These commitments are available to read in the Steering Group’s response document. The Steering Group also produced a video outlining its commitments, to make sure people could easily access feedback and information on the National Centre. This video is available below.

The majority of responses to the initial consultation came from survivors and affected people, their families and advocates, and the strongest message coming through their responses was around decision-making. They want to be fully involved at every stage of the Centre’s development, and beyond.

Other themes that were reflected in the consultation included the need for: equal and inclusive memorialisation; an engaging, authentic and professional museum experience; truth, healing and support; the sensitive treatment of records; and a calm and reflective garden space. The Steering Group's commitments aim to address the issues raised under each of these themes.