Dublin South West TD, Seán Crowe, has said that the Heritage Minister, Josepha Madigan, is following the same worn out path as her predecessor and neglecting her duties in ensuring that vitally important buildings on Moore Street are preserved.

The Sinn Féin TD said Moore Street is becoming an increasingly bleak environment due to the lack of movement on the part of the government in preserving it. Sinn Féin has launched  legislation that will ensure that certain parts of Moore Street, and its environs, will be deemed a national monument.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“The Department for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has clearly and officially stated that the Moore Street battlefield site is a national monument, yet to date they have failed to identify a large number of buildings in that space as comprising a national monument and to issue an actual preservation order.

“Minister Madigan is following the well-worn path of her predecessor and is derelict in her duty regarding these buildings, given that they are increasingly under pressure and facing potential demolition owing to a very large planning permission application for a shopping centre.

“The O’Brien’s Mineral Water Works building, Henry Place, was occupied and held by the Volunteers evacuating the GPO.

“The White Cottage, Henry Place, was occupied and held under fire by Michael Collins. The Bottling Stores, Moore Street, were occupied and held by Captain Frank Henderson, and were the location of the killing of Michael Mulvihill and Henry Coyle.

“No. 10 Moore Street was the point of entry to the terrace, the leaders’ refuge, the location of the field hospital set up by Nurse Elizabeth O’Farrell and Julia Grenan, and the location of the killing of Paddy Shortis.

“Nos. 20 and 21 were the location of the acceptance by the Volunteers of the surrender order after consultation with Clarke, Plunkett, Collins and Mac Diarmada.

“No. 25 Moore Street was the location of the killing of The O’Rahilly, Charles Corrigan and Francis Macken.”

Crowe continued:

“Surely a live planning application that details the destruction of buildings and streets constitutes a danger.

“The buildings are of major heritage importance. The recent court cases have made it abundantly clear that it is not up to the Judiciary to issue protective notices.  The Judiciary has actually kicked the case back into the lap of the Minister and said it is her responsibility to do so.

“Anyone who visits Moore Street today will see it is dying due to a lack of a centralised plan.

“I am calling on the Minister to break with her predecessors approach and become proactive in turning Moore Street into the vibrant cultural and historic quarter that it could be.

“The traders on the street are also prisoners of the Minister’s lack of intervention. We need a plan put in place that will save this historic quarter for future generations.”

ENDS