Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has called on the public to attend the Rally to Save the GPO at 1pm this Saturday 12 July at the GPO on O’Connell Street, Dublin.

Teachta Crowe said:

“Rally to Save the GPO will send a clear message to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – hands off our history.

“The GPO is the most iconic site of our nations’ struggle for freedom, a symbol of our proud history of resistance to colonial rule and oppression.

“The place where the proclamation was read aloud by Pádraig Mac Piarais on Easter Monday 1916, declaring the Irish Republic. Where it was bravely defended during the Easter Rising.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, in their relentless pursuit of commercial gain, are attempting to erode the historical character of the GPO, pushing plans that would it reduced to a soulless, commercialised shell of its former self.

“This is not progress. This is a desecration of our heritage, and it is yet another example of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s betrayal of Ireland’s proud revolutionary history.

“Following the government’s shameful decision to back the handing over of the Moore Street battlefield site to a British property developer to pave over for profit, one would be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are hellbent on erasing the legacy of the Easter Rising.

“In no other country that fought for its independence would you encounter such blatant disrespect and vandalism of the nation’s hallowed ground. What have Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael got against the heroic men and women of 1916?

“We cannot and will not stand by and allow this go ahead. The GPO is not for sale. Our proud history and heritage are not for sale. The GPO belongs to the Irish People. It belongs to all of us.

“I ask anyone who agrees to join the Rally to Save the GPO at 1pm on Saturday 12th June, at the GPO on O’Connell Street, Dublin.”