O'Donoghue Announces Support For Historic Longship's Voyage From Denmark To Dublin

John O'Donoghue, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism announced that his department would be providing substantial support for the voyage of a replica Viking Longship to Ireland this summer.

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, the National Museum of Ireland and the Danish Ship Museum at Roskilde, Denmark, are co-operating in support of the six-week voyage

During its trip, the ship - the Sea Stallion - from Glendalough, (Havhingsten fra Glendalough) will be thoroughly tested in the waters that the original ship was built to conquer.

The National Museum at Collins Barracks will have screens showing live footage from the voyage as part of the exhibition beginning on June 28th. The Sea Stallion will be derigged and brought to the National Museum at Collins Barracks on August 17th and it will form the centrepiece of the exhibition at the Museum until June 2008.

The 30-yard longship is the largest reconstruction of a Viking Warship. It will leave the Viking Ship Museum harbour in Roskilde for Dublin on Sunday July 1st.

Crewed by 65 international volunteers, including Danish and Irish members, the ship will navigate the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, arriving in Dublin on Tuesday, August 14th where a formal welcome will be accorded to the ship and crew.

The welcoming ceremony will mark the start of a two-day "Viking Village" beside the ship at Custom House Quay in Dublin Docklands.

"My Department and I are delighted to contribute to this historic and scientific project recreating a Viking ship's journey from Denmark to Ireland," said Minister O'Donoghue. "I am sure that the arrival of the Longship at Dublin Docklands and the display and exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland will be both a cultural and tourism highlight."

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is contributing towards safety, communications and publication costs. In addition to the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and the National Museum of Ireland a number of other public bodies, including the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, Dublin City Council, the Dublin Port Company, Dublin Tourism and the Defence Forces, are cooperating to make this a memorable visit.

The Sea Stallion was built at the Viking Ship Museum between 2000 and 2004 and is an exact reconstruction of a Viking ship originally built in Dublin in the year 1042. In 1072 the original ship, which is now on display in the Roskilde Ship Museum, was scuttled in Roskilde Fjord as part of the city defences.

The director of the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Tina Damgaard-Soerensen said: "This is one of the largest marine archaeological experiments ever carried out.

"We are honoured and deeply grateful that Ireland welcomes the ship, the crew and the project in such a warm atmosphere. We understand that Vikings were not always as welcome!"