Advisory group backs opening up Moore Street Easter Rising site to the public

THE MOORE STREET buildings where several leaders of the 1916 Rising spent their final hours before surrender should be opened to the public, according to a government-appointed advisory group.

The Moore Street Advisory Group presented its report to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan today.

The group, which includes TDs, councillors, Moore Street traders and representatives of 1916 relatives said the buildings, where James Connolly and other 1916 rebels holed up after vacating the GPO, should be opened to the public as a 1916 commemorative centre so it can “insert itself into the public consciousness as soon as possible in this Decade of Centenaries”. 

“The shuttered front doors and windows of Nos. 14-17 present an un-welcoming vista to the public and poorly reflect the presence and poignancy of the buildings in the events of Easter Week 1916,” the report reads.

The group also considered how the State can enhance the character of the quarter as a historic and cultural attraction in the city. 

Possibilities include a visitor interpretative centre, a Children of 1916 exhibition, a reception centre for visitors, a loan of suitable 1916 artefacts from the National Museum and displays from the National Library and the National Archives.

Source: Shutterstock/Derick Hudson

The advisory group was set up by the government in 2017 to achieve consensus between stakeholders, including the new owners of the Dublin Central Site, Hammerson, on the future of the area.

Its report contains nine recommendations for Minister Madigan regarding street on Dublin’s northside.

‘Existential crisis’

The advisory group largely welcomed Hammerson’s revised development plans for a site which stretches from O’Connell to Moore Street.

However it issued a stark warning regarding the future of the famous Moore Street market, saying a lack of basic facilities and anti-social activities on the street has pushed the 200-year-old market to the brink of collapse.

“The Moore Street market is facing an existential crisis. If it is not fundamentally re-imagined and regenerated around a compelling future vision it will almost certainly go under,” the advisory group wrote.

The report recommends the appointment of an expert group, under the aegis of Dublin City Council, to lead the regeneration of the market.