Wexford County Council have announced plans to reopen John Redmond’s mausoleum. The graveyard, situated on John’s Street in Wexford Town, has been closed to the public for several decades.
Redmond led the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918 and is known for securing Home Rule for Ireland. However, the Government of Ireland Act 1914, which he fought hard to achieve, was postponed after the outbreak of World War One.
In March 1918, the Wexford-born politician died from heart failure following an operation to remove an intestinal obstruction. His last words were: “Father, I am a broken-hearted man.”
A structural assessment of Redmond’s tomb has already been carried out, partly funded by a €30,000 grant from the Department of Heritage.
Further works to clean the tomb and graveyard will be carried out ahead of its reopening, which is expected to take place in the middle of 2015.