AIMSIR
When the faithful looked out their windows this morning and saw the teeming rain, the reactions varied from “Ugh!” through swear-words to “Ah, maybe it’ll clear up later”. Which it did, of course and stayed gan báistí until it was packing up time. But we can’t control the weather (nor can the stall-holders) and have been there even in snow.
DAOINE
Bróna, Orla and Diarmuid opened up and were later joined by Deirdre and Stephen.
We had lots of conversations about history and conversation with people of backgrounds Irish, Brazillian, Romanian, Catalan, Asturian, Madrid …. All wishing the campaign success.
The badges are proving popular with people too.
A LIVELIER STREET WITH NEW STALLS
The additional market stalls in tents selling a wide variety of things that were introduced on Culture Night some weeks ago were back on the street today. We’ve been informed they will continue every week, Saturday-Sunday inclusive, with a ga p (for some reason?) for the next few weeks but recommencing 19th and 20th November until 23rd and 24th December.
Some of the traditional street traders view the new stalls with ambivalence as it does not necessarily bring more people to buy vegetables, fruit or flowers. But given time it may well do so. To give a flavour, we’ve taken many more photographs than usual.
Like a number of the people who spoke to us, we welcome the livening up of the street and it displaying its potential – so much more than what the property speculators Hammerson want to do with it. We have always distributed our leaflets among the shops and stalls along Moore Street and of course we distributed it among the new “tent stalls” also.
There was hot food and hot drinks on sale too.
There were also a couple of young performers, one playing music and singing and another in Hallowe’en makeup doing hoop-la spins.
It’s difficult to understand why the recommendations regarding the addition of stalls of the Market Expert Group Report last December, in which we participated, only began to be implemented this month, as the weather grows colder and daylight hours shorter.
NO HISTORY?
Noticeably, the recommendations regarding raising awareness of the 1916 history of Moore Street are not getting the slightest promotion in the new market stalls and that’s not acceptable – there is plenty of scope there for developing tasteful merchandise to promote the market and 1916 history, as well as other measures such as street panels. Of course, that may not suit the property speculators ….. or their supporters ….
Why not write to the Council or Councillors and tell them what you think? And of course, spread the word by sharing our posts on social media from time to time.
