DAOINE
On our campaign group’s 474th week (10th year) of Saturday stall in Moore Street, our foireann consisted of Bróna, Deirdre, Orla agus Diarmuid.
A long-time shopkeeper had asked us for a petition sheet and returned it with collected signatures – go raibh maith agat!
Tom Malone came over to sign the petition and to tell us he is a descendant of Irish Volunteer Lieutenant Michael Malone who was killed at the Battle of Mount Street Bridge on Wednesday morning 26th April 1916. He and Volunteer Séamus Grace in No.25 Northumberland Road at the corner with Haddington Road sent two teenage Volunteers home and waited for British troops coming to suppress the Rising.
After a Cumann na mBan Volunteer on a bicycle brought news of the 7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters who had landed at Dun Laoghaire (“Kingstown”) earlier that day on their way, Volunteers Malone and Kelly were the first to open fire on the marching British soldiers.
The British came under fire afterwards from the Schoolhouse further along but on the east side of the road and, after the soldiers had eventually cleared both those strongpoints (in the course of which they killed Tom Malone with grenades) they came under fire from Clanwilliam House on the other side of the bridge over the Grand Canal (the first two of those buildings are still there but developers got the third).
Twenty men in that unit (with some firing also from the Boland’s Mill garrison on the railway bridge) wreaked devastation on the soldiers whose officers kept sending them in waves against the defenders. Official British casualties amounted to four officers and 216 other ranks killed or wounded for four of their own dead.
In Moore Street, people passed us on their way to the Palestinian solidarity march scheduled to start from the Garden of Remembrance at 1.00pm, some stopping to sign. We stay at least until 1.30 to complete our two hours but we wrapped up quickly on the dot for those who planned to attend (up to 10,000 marched that day).
A woman at the Turkish food stall brought us free soup and a chunk of olive bread as we were packing up – Teşekkürler/ go raibh maith agat!
AIMSIR
Bhí sé scamallach ach bog, which was a relief for the team and stalls after two days of almost constant rain.
UASDHÁTÚ
Requesting information on the speculator Hammerson’s High Court Case against Dublin Council and receiving nothing, we made an official request under the Freedom Of Information Act. After a delay to the maximum wait of four weeks, all our requests were denied except that we were given the date of the case to be heard. We can appeal the refusal and of course will be charged.
The Village magazine for Oct/ Nov. 2023 carried an article referring to an observation in appeal by Stephen Troy of Troy’s Butchers against Dublin City Council granting planning permission quoting alleged correspondence from the Chairperson of the Minister’s Advisory Group on Moore Street. The text quoted points to a person supposed to be an independent Chairperson organising a payoff for Moore Street traditional traders so that they support the MAGMS report and even the Hammerson plan.
We include a photo of the article.
