55 Amiens Street Dublin in 1908 and today in 2021 National Library of Ireland National Library of Ireland

GOVERNMENT FUNDING OF €50,000 has been announced for the conservation and restoration of 55 Amiens Street, Dublin, once home to Irish Republican Tom Clarke. 

Clarke operated a tobacconist at the building from 1908 to 1911. 

Today’s funding is being made available under the Irish language shopfront stream Historic Structures Fund (HSF). 

The funding will contribute to the conservation and restoration of the original Irish language shopfront, while supporting the structural works necessary to safeguard this part of the building. 

It will also assist with the reinstatement of the gilded signwriting on the shop windows. 

The Department of Housing said the funded works will help commemorate an important era of Irish history and are part of an overall plan to bring this historic, protected building back into use. 

The project is being overseen by Dublin City Council and, on completion, it will house community, cultural and social enterprise. 

“When Tom Clarke had his shop here, it was illegal to have signage in Irish,” Minister for Culture Catherine Martin said. 

“The restoration of this signage under the HSF not only commemorates an important chapter of our history, but is a celebration of our language,” Martin said. 

“I am very much looking forward to seeing this project come to fruition.” 

Applications to the Historic Structures Fund are now closed for 2021 but it is hoped to run the shopfront stream again in 2022. Applications for next year’s HSF will open later this year.