Photo (taken by Diarmuid): Mary, Bróna, Mel and Bart posing at a familiar spot on the street.
19th December 2020
On grey but mild enough pre-Christmas Saturday, the full core team was present: Bróna, Mary, Bart, Diarmuid agus Mel. It was a busy one for us and although only Bernie had a stall along the 1916 Terrace, there were five in operation along the southern end of the street. Apart from that, Anne’s Cafe was open temporarily for the festive season and shoppers called on the shops in the street or passed through on their way to or from other places.
Bart, Errol and Mel were taking photos with only one by Diarmuid.
Bróna displayed a number of our petition sheets sent by Rick Styron who visited Moore Street before and though now back in the USA, collected around 60 signatures in support of the conservation of the Quarter.
We posted (in the old sense of the word and now coming back with social media) some of our Christmas seasonal greeting “cards” along the street. This is very much a Moore Street production: an idea from Diarmuid, a photo of a Christmas wreath from a stall and photoshopping by Bart of our badge, which is the Grotesque sitting on top of number 55, along with a pair of crossed Mausers. These today had been printed off by Mary and delivered to the team.
We met Con on the street who conversed in particular with Mel and also a lady of Polish origin who was appalled that the Terrace had not yet been saved; Errol came by, doled out fruit and stayed chatting.
You can have your cake….and sing
Bróna brought the cards she had made herself for members of the core team, also cake and serviettes (very civilised) and Mary too brought down slices of home-made Christmas cake of excellent consistency.
This year we did not sing Mary’s cleverly-adapted ‘carols’. We did however have singing in honour of two county teams who were due to battle it out yesterday, Mayo and Dublin and making the point that the Moore Street quarter belongs to the people of the whole of Ireland, not just Dublin. Diarmuid sang a few verses merging the lyrics of “Men of the West” by Dublin man William Rooney (1990?) with an Irish translation by Conchúr Mag Uidhir about the last United Men uprising in 1798, which had the participation of a small force of French troops under General Humbert (there was no uprising in Dublin that year). Mag Uidhir won a prize for the translation at the Feis Ceoil i gCo.Mhuigheo in 1903 and W.A Sheehan won a gold medal for the singing of the same song in English there too that year.
The second song was “Dublin in the Rare Aul’ Times” by Pete StJohn. There was a complaint that in comparison with the Mayo song this one was less political and also about a city declining under property developers, hardly the mood to encourage the Dubs on the field that evening! This was a fair point but on the other hand we have hosted a number of Dublin fighting songs over the months and years. “The Rare Aul’ Times” was sung on Moore Street at our second rally in January 2016 against imminent demolition of three houses in the 1916 Terrace. The first rally earlier that week had led to the occupation of the buildings, which saved them from demolition.
Updates
The Mayor’s Forum met online very recently and there were to be a number of follow-ups; we in particular asked why the signs that had been promised for erection by the Council of the signposts for the O’Rahilly Monument were still not erected. The Chair of the Forum, Donna Cooney, said she would chase that up.
A fair amount of time was taken with discussion on the draft report of the Moore Street Expert Group, on which Donna Cooney presented a progress update. The discussion should the draft be circulated or wait until it was completed, concerns of the shop traders and street traders, remained to be done in particular in consulting the traders ….
The Minister’s Advisory Group on Moore Street, after a long time without meeting, is scheduled to do so next Monday. The Minister decided when it was set up which of the stakeholders were to given a seat (and a vote) on it but some very relevant groups were excluded, among which was ourselves, the National Graves Association and the Save Moore Street 2016 group. The rest is made up of political party representatives from the Oireachtas and Dublin City Council. A number of members on it telly us that they have asked for us to be present on it but if so, they have never put it on record in the minutes of the meetings of the Advisory Group or of its predecessor, her Consultative Group. Not all members of the Advisory Group are in favour of the property speculators’ plans but the majority are.
A candle in remembrance
Mary brought a candle in remembrance of those who have died of Covid 19 and those yet to die. On that sombre but respectful note we rolled up the banner and flags and wished one another all the best for the festive season, which we wish you and your close ones also: Beannachtaí na Fáile oraibh go léir. Beimid thar nais ar an tsráid sa bhliain 2021.
