DUBLIN CITY Council has sanctioned the partial demolition of buildings on Moore Lane that campaigners say were occupied by the leaders of the 1916 Rising.
The 19th century buildings at 17 and 18 Moore Lane, were judged to be in an unsafe condition by the city council which ordered that they be lowered in height to make them safe. The buildings, which back on to Moore Street, form part of the Carlton site due to be redeveloped by Dundrum Shopping Centre developer, Joe O’Reilly.
Due to their historic significance, four houses on Moore Street were designated national monuments by then environment minister Dick Roche in 2007.
Number 16 Moore Street is said to be where Irish rebel leaders made the decision to surrender to British forces after the 1916 Rising.
The buildings on Moore Lane are not protected structures, but the Save 16 Moore Street Committee said these were used by the leaders of the Rising and should be preserved.
“We believe that this is the beginning of the death by a thousand cuts of Moore Street. The buildings demolished were the more decorative 19th century buildings attached to the historic 1916 terrace,” campaign spokesman Patrick Cooney said.
The buildings were an “integral part of the terrace” known to have been occupied by those involved in the Rising, including Michael Collins and Seán MacEntee, Mr Cooney said.
“We have the frankly bizarre situation that entire chunks of the 1916 terrace, although physically attached to a national monument and of immense historical significance, are themselves not listed structures and are being demolished piecemeal at the behest of Dublin City Council,” he said.
