An Irish-language shopfront, formerly owned by the famous Irish republican, Tom Clarke, is set to be restored.
Clarke, who played a pivotal role in the 1916 Easter Rising, operated a tobacconist at number 55, Amiens Street in Dublin city from 1908 to 1911.
After the Rising ended, Clarke was brought to Kilmainham Gaol and was later executed by firing squad, along with Pádraig Pearse and Thomas MacDonagh.
His former shop, which is currently derelict, will have its early 1900s signage restored, using €50,000 in funding from the Irish-language shopfront stream of the Historic Structures Fund (HSF).
Structural works will also be necessary to safeguard the building, and the gilded signwriting on the shop windows will be reinstated.
“When Tom Clarke had his shop here, it was illegal to have signage in the Irish language,” said Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Catherine Martin.
Project
“The restoration of this signage under the HSF not only commemorates an important chapter of our history, but is a celebration of our language. I am very much looking forward to seeing this project come to fruition.”
The project will be overseen by Dublin City Council.
The HSF assists owners and custodians of historic and protected structures to safeguard them into the future.
In April, €3 million in funding was granted to 85 other projects under the scheme.
Applications to the fund are closed for this year, but it is hoping to run the shopfront stream again in 2022.
Details will be posted on the department’s website at a later date.