Moore Street High Court ruling a victory for our history and heritage – O’Brien

​Fianna Fáil TD and Spokesperson for Dublin Darragh O’Brien has welcomed today’s High Court ruling which has designated the Moore Street area a national monument and has thrown the state’s case out.

“Fianna Fáil fully welcomes this huge victory with the decision by the High Court today. The previous Government tried to ignore the historic significance of Moore Street and they arrogantly pushed their own plans for the site despite great opposition. Today has been a great victory for all of the people of Ireland, helping to secure this site of significant historical importance for future generations. Fianna Fáil is committed to honouring our past while at the same time outlining a strong vision for our future.

“Last year I introduced The Moore Street Area and Redevelopment Bill to the Seanad. Fianna Fáil has worked to preserve the whole of the battlefield site, not just the buildings of 14-17 Moore Street.  The street in its entirety is iconic to Dublin, preserving just 4 buildings, while ignoring the rest of the terrace would have been completely inappropriate. Moore Street has great economic potential and we want to see a greater vision for the use of the whole terrace and adjoining lands on North O’Connell Street.

“Fianna Fáil’s proposals are for a redevelopment authority with the power to create and develop a fitting historic quarter. This will be a much more effective mechanism to secure and revitalise the area appropriately. We are immensely proud of our founding generation’s links to 1916 and we must act to properly commemorate and preserve the physical heritage of the rebellion.

“We welcome the ruling today which has kicked the case by the State out the door. We commend the legal team and campaigners who we have been working alongside in order to defeat this case.

“The Fine Gael-Labour coalition’s plans for the street would have seen the destruction of a very important part of Irish history. In the year where we celebrate the centenary of the 1916 Rising we should be thanking the 1916 relatives group which took this landmark case to make sure we protect Moore Street and the surrounding areas; preserving and restoring it for future generations to enjoy and to preserve the memory of the gallant men and women who fought in 1916,” concluded Deputy O’Brien.