Battle for Moore Street rages on

THE 1916 Relatives’ Association has warned against rushing through a Moore Street development plan to meet a deadline for the 2016 Rising commemorations.

The call came after a meeting between various groups and individuals interested in preserving the historic site that was hosted by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, at the Mansion House last week.

Under currently approved proposals, the buildings at 14-17 Moore Street will be transformed into a museum and commemorative centre as part of a wider plan for the surrounding area.

Planning permission approved by An Bord Pleanála in 2010 allows for a major retail development around the buildings, which have been declared a national monument.

However, the recently formed 1916 Relatives’ Association, which has over 300 members, says the creation of a standalone commemorative centre isn’t enough and it wants the whole street

“sensitively restored

?.

“We want a living, breathing vibrant street,

? said honorary secretary, Barry Lyons.

“We don’t want a shopping centre. It would be like building a shopping centre around Newgrange.

“We do want to see the street restored. We just don’t want to see a gun held to our head for 2016 to rush through a botched museum plan.

?

Permission for the current proposal from Chartered Land was approved just weeks ago by then Art and Heritage Minister, Jimmy Deenihan, and the site is under the control of NAMA.

Earlier this year NAMA announced it would provide funding of e5 million for the commemorative centre. However, Lyons claims there’s little support for the current plans.

“As far as we can see nobody supports the plan, including the councillors in Dublin City Council,

? he said.

“I’ve run two Facebook pages for the past five years or so and between them we’ve got at least 10,000 people who have pledged support for the restoration of the whole site.

“It seems to be flying in the face of what the public want, what the relatives want, what politicians have asked for and yet the plan seems set to be bulldozed through.

?

Lyons said that as the site is now effectively controlled by State-run NAMA, the public should have a say in its future.

Great-grandson of James Connolly, James Connolly Heron of the 1916 Relatives’ Association and the Concerned Relatives of the Signatories of the 1916 Proclamation, also attended last week’s meeting at the Mansion House.

“Worldwide experts, including our own National History Museum of Ireland, have described the Moore Street site as the most important historic site in modern Irish history and something that should be cherished and preserved,

? he said.

The 1916 Relatives’ Association is calling on recently appointed Minister for Arts and Heritage, Heather Humphreys, to freeze the consent order granted by her predecessor allowing construction to go ahead, pending a full investigation into the plans.

“The legacy of this Government will be for taking a wrecking ball to the site where our forefathers fought and died for the Irish State,

? Mr Connolly Heron said.

“This amounts to nothing less than desecration of the area where our relatives made the ultimate sacrifice for Ireland. The history we speak about in relation to Moore Street is the foundation of this State and the birthplace of our modern democracy, which must be treasured forever and not be Wood Quay revisited.

?

Dublin City Councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha (SF) believes that the current plan can be stopped and that the campaign to save Moore Street needs to be stepped up.

“The campaign to save the National Monument at 14-17 Moore Street and to prevent the destruction of the rest of Moore Street and the

‘lanes of history’ inextricably linked to the 1916 Rising, has gained national and international support,

? he continued.

“The granting of consent by Minister Deenihan for the developer to proceed with works on and around 14-17 Moore Street is by no means the end of the matter.

“The consent of City Council planners and councillors to further steps is required before the work can proceed.

“We in Sinn Féin, as the largest party on Dublin City Council, are very clear. We will do all in our power to prevent the plan from going ahead.

“Instead we want to see Moore Street developed as an historic 1916 quarter. The campaign to save Moore Street must be stepped up in the months ahead and we intend to be to the fore in advancing that campaign.

?