Sir, – A recent news report ("Rising museum postponed", October 7th) refers to a proposed commemorative centre at 14 to 17 Moore Street, "believed to have been used by the leaders of the Rising". All buildings along the Moore Street terrace were occupied and held by volunteers as the last headquarters of the 1916 Provisional Government of the Irish Republic.
Number 10 Moore Street, the point of entry into the terrace by the GPO garrison and where the leaders spent their last night of freedom, is now being offered up in a proposed deal by Chartered Land supported by City Management. This would secure the planning application for a shopping centre on the last extant 1916 battleground – an area described by our National Museum as “the most important historic site in modern Irish history”.
It is truly remarkable that buildings that were occupied by five of the signatories to our Proclamation before their execution by firing squad are considered fair game. Elected members of the city council should not engage in this charade. It is deeply insulting to the memory of the men and women of 1916. It runs contrary to the recommendations of its own Moore Street Advisory Committee that has called for an independent battlefield survey of this historic area and the preservation of all 1916 buildings. That survey must now be implemented in the public interest, given the belated recognition of the historical importance of number 10 Moore Street – a building set to be demolished and lost forever under what in effect is now an outdated and redundant Chartered Land planning application. – Yours, etc,
JAMES
CONNOLLY HERON,
Ranelagh, Dublin 6.