Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

"There should be no further commercial development work in the vicinity of this site or in the [Moore Street] area. The strongest way to secure that is to designate it as a historical quarter." These are fine words and as much as I would like to claim credit for them, I cannot. They are the words of current Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, in 2015. It is not often that I find myself in agreement with the Minister but he was on the money when he said that. I urge him to maintain that position in 2021.

As a child, I spent a lot of time in and around Moore Street. My late grandparents, Jim and May O'Hanlon, ran a tailors and dressmaking business in the inner city. I loved nothing more than experiencing the colour and culture of Moore Street. If old Dublin could speak, it would sound like Moore Street. There is something almost lyrical about an old Dublin brogue.

As I grew older, I became aware of the significance of Moore Street in the Easter Rising of 1916. As the flames spread across the roofs of the GPO, The O'Rahilly cleared the way for an escape route. He paid the ultimate sacrifice as he was shot and eventually died in Sackville Street at the side of Moore Street. Pearse, Connolly, Plunkett, Clarke, Seán McDermott and Willie Pearse held a council of war in No. 16 Moore Street. The decision was made to surrender to save the civilian lives and the lives of the rank and file of the Volunteers. They made that decision in the full knowledge that they would be shot by the Brits.

Late last year, an unscrupulous developer pulled down the ancestral home of The O'Rahilly in Herbert Park. This was cultural vandalism at its worst. We cannot allow this to happen to Moore Street.

As I said, there should be no further development work in the vicinity of Moore Street and if you do not believe me, ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. I commend my colleague, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, for bringing this Bill to the floor of the Dáil and giving us this opportunity to restore and preserve Moore Street for generations to come.

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