DAOINE
B’iad Brona, Orla, Deirdre agus Diarmuid an foireann inniu.
We had a conversation with a woman from Italy settled in Cork for many years who visited Dublin with her Irish husband and daughter specifically to see Moore Street.
And we had a native Irish speaker from Connemara also visiting with his partner who were surprised to hear Irish spoken at our table – all of us have some or a fair bit but one of us is a native speaker. We were able to give them some advice about historical things to see apart from the Kilmainham Jail Museum which they were going to get a bus to later. As we told them, Moore Street could be made a great alternative historical experience and it is right in the city centre – it was the last stand of the HQ Garrison of the 1916 Rising and five of the Seven 1916 Proclamation Signatories spent their last hours of freedom here in this terrace of houses.
Santa Clause stopped by also and signed the petition – no sign of the reindeer (but in a street with two butchers’ shops that was probably understandable), as did Dáithí De Róiste, the current Lord Mayor of Dublin for this year.
AIMSIR
Bhí sé fuar but it stayed dry and we were fine.
EILE
There were some newcomers to the more recent stalls on the street: a Latin American couple selling fabrics and an Irish hot food stall, serving Dublin Coddle today. Great to see Dublin traditional food among all the variety of hot food sold on the street. In fact, there are not many places in the whole of Dublin where one can buy Irish traditional hot food.
The Latin American stallholders read our leaflet and then came over to sign our petition. It’s our experience that most migrants are interested in our history and culture and want to support it as well of course as the street market, in which they do their shopping more than do the Irish (according to traditional stall holders, about 75% of their business is with people of migrant or visitor background).
A Garda helicopter kept circling overhead and members of their Public Order Unit could be seen around the area. Another Palestinian Solidarity march was scheduled to depart from the nearby Garden of Remembrance and due to pass by the scene of the attack on children last week and also past the scene of some of the subsequent far-Right rioting and burning of Garda patrol cars.
We promoted the dramatised historical tour for tomorrow by the 1916 Performing Arts Club, a great group independent of political parties or organisations (as are we, of course) that meets monthly on the second Saturday evening (not in December, however). The tour tomorrow starts at 2pm from the GPO corner with Princes Street, everyone is welcome and people in period costume particularly so.
UASDHÁTÚ
The property speculator Hammerson’s High Court challenge against Dublin City Councillors voting to give historical conservation status to a number of buildings in the street is scheduled for the 12th, Tuesday week.
