Wednesday, April 30th - Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, has today approved revised designs for the creation of a commemorative centre at the national monument at Nos. 14 – 17 Moore Street, Dublin, and has also set a number of new conditions.
No. 16 Moore St was the final headquarters of the leaders of the 1916 Rising prior to surrender. Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 Moore St were preserved as a national monument by order in 2007 meaning that any works affecting the monument require the written consent of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Minister Deenihan commented:
"The decision I have made will secure the future of one of the most important sites in modern Irish history. Together with the interpretive centre planned for the GPO, the Moore Street commemorative centre will provide a key focal point for our commemoration of the events, the people, and the sacrifices they made in 1916.
"Now that funding is in place, and appropriate restoration proposals have been approved, this is our great opportunity - within a limited window of time - to have a fully restored commemorative centre at Moore Street for the 100th anniversary commemorations in 2016.”
Background
In July 2013, Minister Deenihan signed an order of consent for works at the Moore Street National Monument. The order of consent signed by the Minister approved the creation of a commemorative centre at the national monument at Nos. 14-17 Moore Street, involving the full repair and conservation of these buildings.
The order of consent did not approve the demolition of any structures at the national monument, or removal of material from the national monument, which date from or before 1916. In addition, the order of consent did not approve works for the provision of an underground car park within the boundary of the national monument site, or the demolition of the Moore Lane facades of Nos. 15 and 16. A range of other conditions were also applied to the consent order.
The consent was conditional on a revised project design being submitted to the Minister within 9 months which would take full account of the elements of the proposal for which consent has been refused and the conditions attached to the approved works. The revised designs was submitted in March of this year, and have now been assessed and approved.
New conditions
Minister Deenihan has also applied a number of new conditions to his approval for the creation of a commemorative centre. The additional conditions require:
A new gable wall to No.14 Moore Street instead of the temporary finish that would otherwise have been in place until the wider development went ahead.
A new building that will be incorporated into the Commemorative Centre will also be constructed to the side of No. 17 Moore Street as part of the restoration project.
The Minister has said these conditions “will ensure that the houses will, from day one, have a standard of finish and appearance that befits their historical importance”
The laneways surrounding the monument site - Henry Place, Moore Lane and O’Rahilly Parade - are to be retained as part of the wider development. The applicant must enter discussions with Dublin City Council in relation to the terms of the planning permission given by An Bord Pleanála in 2010 which requires a detailed project proposal, in which the historic significance of the critical locations along the evacuation route from the GPO through the site are featured and interpreted, to be submitted to the City Council for approval.
In relation to the development of the wider area around Moore Street, these plans have been considered in detail and approved in the decisions made by Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála under the Planning and Development Acts between 2008 and 2010. The role of the Minister has been to assess what is best for the national monument at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street in accordance with the terms of Preservation Order that was placed on the site in 2007.
Meetings
Last week, the Minister met with interested parties, including relatives of those who fought in 1916 who are both supportive of and opposed to the current plans, and also met with Dublin City Council’s Moore St Advisory Committee and members of the Oireachtas. This followed extensive engagement with all groups, both before and since the consent was granted last July.
Paying tribute to the relatives of the 1916 Leaders, the Minister said:
"The relatives and their supporters inspired a successful campaign that had led to the making of the Preservation Order in 2007. Without their determination and commitment, these buildings - which had been planned for demolition as recently as 1999 - would never have survived.
"My role has been to assess what is best for Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street , taking into account the national monuments legislation and the terms of Preservation Order placed on the site.
"Now, I believe it should be our shared goal to ensure that a commemorative centre - to mark the sacrifice of all involved in 1916 - be open for the public to visit in time for the centenary of the Easter Rising."