President Higgins Visits Irish Prison Service for Project 16 Exhibition - June 2nd, 2016

President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins and Mrs Sabina Higgins took time out of their busy schedule to visit the Irish Prison Service to view the Project 16 Exhibition which is located in the Chapel at Mountjoy West.

Project 16 is an exhibition of the many works produced by prisoners in our 14 prisons to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Rising. The venue, Mountjoy West Chapel, is significant as many of the women who were involved in the rising were transferred to the women’s prison there and the stained glass window in the chapel was donated by a former prisoner Mary Ellen Humphreys in 1939 (sister of The O’Rahilly, who was killed during the rising) and is dedicated to the women of Cumann na mBan.

On arrival at Mountjoy President Higgins was met by Chief Officer Niall Swift who invited the President to inspect the National Guard of Honour. There was a great representation of prisons and support units in the Guard of Honour and they represented the Service with great professionalism, as always.

In his address the President thanked the Irish Prison Service for the invitation to visit the prison to see the exhibition. He also congratulated all those involved in putting the exhibition together including the prisoners who contributed works saying "The most important about all this impressive work, is that you, as students in prison education facilities, have made the positive decision to undertake challenging study, and to bring forward original and creative projects. You have produced work of substance and value – not just value to yourselves and the wider prison community, but to our society at large. As President of Ireland, I want to express my appreciation to you for producing such work and my admiration for the quality of what you have achieved".
Concluding his address the President said "may I congratulate, once again, the Irish Prison Service and all its staff at all levels, the Prison Education Centres and Libraries, and all of you who have taken part so creatively in commemorating the events and people of 1916. I have no doubt that the work of the hand and mind that you achieved this year will forge in each and every one of you an enduring connection with the men and women of 1916".

To read the President’s speech in full click here