developers’ folly or 1916 Cultural Quarter?
Developer's folly - the brick arch proposed by Hammerson which would cut the historic 1916 terrace in two The historic terrace as it should be, in the plan by 1916 relatives and campaigners
BY MÍCHEÁL Mac DONNCHA ““What’s happening with Moore Street?” is a question often asked and not surprisingly as years pass and this historic area of Dublin City Centre continues to decline, seemingly stuck fast in a planning and political stalemate. Many hoped that the centenary of the 1916 Rising might see the area rise phoenix-like from the ashes of neglect and decay, but it was not to be. In fact, it was pointed out in 2016 that this 1916 battlefield site perfectly summed up how the ideals of the men and women of Easter Week had been betrayed by corporate interests in league with conservative politicians. Leading Moore Street campaigner James Connolly Heron, great grandson of James Connolly, put it best when he said that the 1916 generation had sacrificed their lives for their country while those who crashed the economy and imposed austerity had sacrificed their country for their lifestyles.
• Number 10 Moore Street where the GPO garrison broke through the gable wall to enter the terrace 10-25
anphoblacht UIMHIR EISIÚNA 1 - 2021 - ISSUE NUMBER 1
It is down to campaigners like James Connolly Heron and many others that the entire Moore Street 1916 battlefield site was not demolished and replaced with a Celtic Tiger high rise ‘shopping mall’ monstrosity. Such was the plan of property development company Chartered Land before it went bust in the economic collapse and ended up in NAMA. With the site in the hands of this state body, there was a perfect opportunity for a new start. Instead, in a deal that once again epitomised how corporate greed was assisted by the state, NAMA facilitated the sale of the site to multinational British-based property development company Hammerson, in a deal known as Project Jewel. The main element of this deal was the sale of Dundrum Shopping Centre, with the ‘addon’ of the ‘Dublin Central’ site that includes Moore Street. Hammerson itself is in financial difficulty, 49
