We came on to the streets for the 365th week of our campaign group on an overcast but humid day.
You may notice the banner missing in the photos but fear not, we just overlooked bringing it this morning.
Only Bróna and Diarmuid were present today from our core team but Orla came in to help and we were glad of her assistance. Things were slow at first but after awhile people were stopping to ask what was going on, crossing the street to sign the petition, talking about history and the situation today ….
PEOPLE
Among the people we talked to today were two Irish men, at least one of whom is living in California, USA. The older man told us he was learning Irish again and we had a fairly fluent conversation i nGaeilge about the local history and about languages. The younger man was picking up on a number of words he recognised in the conversation.
Another older man told us he wanted to see a real Republic.
Separately, a young woman from Colombia talked to us for awhile and later, a couple also from Colombia did likewise – all signing the petition, of course. When the Latin American colonies rebelled against the Spanish crown many of the lieutenants of such as Simon Bolivar were of Basque and Irish extraction and an Irish Volunteer born and raised in Argentina raised the Tricolour on the Henry Street corner of the GPO in 1916.
A group of women were also quite concerned about what was happening to the street; one of them said “Moore Street is the heart of Dublin” (indeed and it is hard to imagine that anything will be left of it after the specculators have first of all turned it into a giant building site, followed by a chain store shopping district.
Some younger men at various times signed the petition but did so too quickly to stop and talk.
As is often the case, some people were surprised to learn that we do not belong to any political party but are completely independent; the odd person too was under the impression that the buildings and markets had been saved.
UPDATES
The running down of Moore Street continues, not only in reduced street stalls, shop fronts closed and lack of repair to buildings but what can only be the deliberate exclusion of the area from festivals promoted by Dublin City Council such as the Dublin History Festival (currently running) and Culture Night. Some years ago Moore Street figured in one of those festivals with a history tour in Irish (conducted by a member of our campaign group) but despite the positive feedback the area has not figured in any culture or history festival tour since, although the area is eminently suited for both in respect of street trading culture, languages, architecture and history. In general, anything that serves to underline the need for conservation of the area is not promoted.
One of our supporters on the street called our attention to a media report discussing project delays in construction of the Metro link. We are not at all against the construction of said rail transport but the placing of Metro station entrance on a demolished Nos. 24, 25 Moore Street is part of the Hammerson (property speculators) plan (to be rented to the Metro?) — with yet another hotel to be built on top. You can read more about the projected construction delays here: https://www.independent.ie/…/government-says-it-hasnt…
Mar i gcónaí, tá muid ag tathaint ar ár dtacadóirí na tuaraisceanna nuachta seo a scaipleadh ar a gcuid leathanach féin.
