Sir, - I write in response to the article on Asgard in your Weekend section of May 12th.
1. The charge that a group of private individuals is planning to restore Asgard as a private yacht seriously misrepresents the public-spirited motivation of the project. All our formal communications and submissions to various State authorities since 1995 have made it clear that we have always intended to return the restored vessel to the titular owner (the Minister for Defence).
2. AthChoiriu an Asgard Teoranta (Asgard Restoration Project or ARP) was convened informally in 1994 and registered as a company limited by guarantee in April 1995. ARP was set up to restore Asgard to full sea-going condition. As a matter of verifiable fact a proposal to conserve her as a museum artefact was not a factor in that decision and any of the founder members could sign affidavits to that effect. The first indication of the existence of a proposal to conserve her was notified to the project in 1997.
3. The article reports that "all coatings of interior and exterior paint on the boat were stripped in order to determine and validate the extent of original material". Although it is a matter of record, the article, at that point, fails to mention that this occurred in 1997. Despite the obligations of care and maintenance on the relevant authorities, our many examinations satisfy us that no moisture retention treatment has ever been applied to the timber during the four years since then.
4. The fact that ARP made a proposal to restore Asgard did not change the State authorities' obligation for care and maintenance of the vessel. To say that ARP's proposal "interrupted" the conservation process misrepresents the facts as ARP did not have possession of or responsibility for Asgard at that point.
5. It is not a fact, as is implicit in the article, that the Heritage Council was immediately against the restoration proposal once consulted by Minister de Valera. In the early stages the council was very supportive of our efforts and ARP holds correspondence to this effect.
Following an extended process of consideration the council convened a working group to examine all the options. This group recommended three options, with the preferred one being display in a museum. However, the group stated in the final report that it lacked confidence that the resources needed to display Asgard appropriately would ever be made available. Three years on, the conservation lobby still has not published any costed proposals as to how its vision will be achieved.
7. We reject the claim that between 80 and 90 per cent of the vessel will be lost in the restoration process. Restoration will include a significant amount of conservation, including most of the deck and frames. - Yours, etc.,
Michael Prior, Honorary Secretary, Asgard Restoration Project, Lower Hatch Street, Dublin 2.