Sinn Féin spokesperson on Arts and Culture Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD has welcomed the unanimous support for his ‘1916 Culture Quarter Bill 2021’, which has passed through Second Stage debate in the Dáil today.

Teachta Ó Snodaigh gave particular thanks to those who have been involved in the campaign to Save Moore Street and in helping bring this Bill to fruition.

The Bill will now proceed to Committee Stage after TDs from all parties and none spoke in favour of the Bill, with no objectors.

The Dublin South Central TD said:

“The heritage of the 1916 Rising belongs to all of us, not just Sinn Féin, and it is good to see that members from other parties also see the benefit and potential for creating a cultural quarter in the heart of this city.

“Cultural and historical tourism is one of the fastest growing areas of tourism today. Many of us have been to other cities and enjoyed the ‘the historic experience’. 

“With the use of modern technology, holograms, sound effects, lighting, graphic and word illuminations, we could create such an experience to help imagine travelling the same journey along the evacuation route, from the soon-to-be empty GPO, to what is currently the National Monument at 14-17.

“Visitors would be invited to imagine how it felt to be part of that IRA garrison, under fire, carrying James Connolly on a stretcher up Henry Place and breaking into no. 10 Moore Street – disturbing the residents before starting to burrow down the terrace.

“How it felt too to be a Volunteer in O’Hanlon’s Yard, 20-21 Moore Street, while Tom Clarke, Joseph Plunkett and Michael Collins tried to persuade the Volunteers to stand down, after the Army Council had met in 16 Moore Street and decided on surrender.

“But Moore Street isn’t just about the Rising – it was, is and will be a street market, a living street, with residents, shops, cafes, and stalls. 

“The intention of this Bill is to preserve the lanes and buildings of Moore Street, the cobbled lanes, restore them to its former self, and then awaken it again, with life.

“A living museum, with platforms for up and coming and well-known artists and performers, making permanent the Moore Street Market – Dublin’s oldest food market – and tying in with the new City Library, the Hugh Lane Gallery and the Writers’ Museum on Parnell Square, to breathe new life into Dublin’s North Inner City, which has been neglected for too long.”