Dublin City Council urges rejection of shopping mall plan for Moore Street 1916 site

» John Hedges

An Phoblacht Editor

The report recommends that Minister Jimmy Deenihan withholds consent from the Chartered Land plan which would encroach on the National Monument site and severely compromise it

TODAY’S report by Dublin City Council on the future of the near-derelict National Monument site of Moore Street – last post of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising before their surrender to the British Army – recommends to Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan rejection of a plan by commercial property developers dominated by a shopping mall.

Welcoming the publication on Wednesday afternoon of the Report of the Dublin City Council Moore Street Advisory Committee, of which he is a member, Sinn Féin Councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha (pictured) said:

“The report recommends that Minister Jimmy Deenihan withholds consent from the Chartered Land plan which would encroach on the National Monument site and severely compromise it.

“This key recommendation reflects the widespread opposition in this City, nationally and internationally to the Chartered Land Plan which would encroach on this historic 1916 site and engulf it in a giant shopping mall. The report says the Chartered Land plan would have ‘a severely negative impact on the setting and integrity of the National Monument’.

“The submissions from 133 individuals and groups show that this National Monument is regarded widely as of key importance, especially as we approach the Centenary of the 1916 Rising.

 “This is reflected in the Committee’s vision for Moore Street which ‘asserts the national and international historic significance of Moore Street as a key site in the story of the struggle for Irish independence and the birth of the Irish Republic. It is this Committee’s ambition that, by Easter 2016, the Moore Street area will, by its preservation as an historic and living part of the City, reflect this vision.’

“Very importantly also, the report recommends that the Minister commissions an independent Battlefield Site assessment of the general area, including the GPO evacuation route, and it stresses the importance of No 10 Moore Street.”

The Sinn Féin councillor and noted historian added:

“The Heritage Minister should accept the recommendations of the report and take the lead now in ensuring the preservation of this vital element of our national heritage.”