Move to get an old gun runner out of jail and into the water

THE historic "gun runner", the Asgard, should be restored and returned to the water, a group of classic boat enthusiasts has said.

The 28 ton yacht, which was once owned by Robert Erskine Childers, is designated as a national monument and stands in a yard at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin. Its external coating was recently stripped down for a survey. The enthusiasts behind the Asgard Restoration Project Ltd are seeking permission from the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, to carry out a thorough assessment of its seaworthiness.

Support for the concept has already been given by the Heritage Council, but the Department is understood to favour transferring the vessel to another dry land location, at the new National Museum premises in Collins Barracks. The Asgard Restoration Project, which is led by former Bord Failte information officer and round the world sailor, Mr Tim Magennis, contends that a vessel belongs on the water - and that the Asgard should be afloat in time for the Tall Ships Race leg in Dublin next year.

The Asgard was ordered by Childers in 1904 as a wedding gift from his Boston parents in law, less than a year after his novel, Riddle of the Sands, was published. It was built by one of the world's best yacht designers, Colin Archer - a Norwegian of Scots parentage - and was delivered in 1905, according to Mr Magennis. It became a household name in 1914, when it landed 900 rifles and 29,000 rounds of ammunition at Howth, Co Dublin.

The arms had been purchased for the Irish Volunteers in Hamburg. They were transported by tug to the Roetigan lightship on the North Sea in late June 1914, where they were transferred to the Asgard and a second yacht, the Kelpie. The Asgard had neither a radio nor engine. Its crew included Mr and Mrs Childers, two Donegal fishermen, Mr Gordon Shephard and the Co Limerick nationalist and friend of Dr Douglas Hyde, Ms Mary Spring Rice.

In 1961, the yacht was returned to Howth from the south of England, and became the Republic's first official sail training vessel under the command of Capt Eric Healy. When its replacement, Asgard II, was built by Tyrrells of Arklow, Co Wicklow, it was decommissioned and "abandoned to the elements" in Malahide Boatyard for a time.

Thanks to the influence of Mr Magennis and the intervention of a Norwegian journalist, Mr Per Olaf Marcussen, the Government ordered the transfer of the craft to Kilmainham Gaol in April 1979.

The Asgard Restoration Project believes the vessel deserves better than to be consigned to a "glass case in Collins Barracks. Ireland is one of only six states in the world with a boat of original Colin Archer design, Mr Magennis says and the craft has been described by yachting correspondent, Winkie Nixon, as "a state of the art cruising yacht", whose significance extends beyond its place in history as the yacht at the centre of the Howth gun running.

Once assessed, the project aims to raise funds for restoration and has promised to hand the vessel back to the State as a "living" monument, fit to sail and raise awareness about Ireland's 2,700 mile coastline.

The Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht said yesterday that no decision had been made by the Minister on relocating the vessel. An assessment had been carried out by a marine surveyor and the craft was found to be in good structural condition. However, due to considerable shrinkage of the timber, restoration would involve replacement of original material rather than repair, which was against established practice, a spokesman said.