Moore Street and the developers

Sir, – It is surprising to see a headline stating that Nama is set to give €5 million for project on Dublin’s Moore Street. This would mean that the agency is about to give millions to the developer of a commercial mall, so that a limited number of those houses where James Connolly, PH Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, Thomas Clarke and Sean MacDiarmada spent their last hours of freedom, can be “developed” into what is described as “a monument project”.

Are we thus abandoning the republic of equals Connolly, Pearse, Ceannt, MacDonagh, O’Rahilly and our Citizen Army, Irish Volunteers and Cumann na mBan fought for, and allowing this historic site to remain in private hands?

May I ask the Dáil to instead mandate compulsory purchase of the properties where the GPO garrison spent the last days of the Rising, and from which they walked out to surrender and prison – or for the leaders death – for an Irish republic. Yours, etc,

LUCILLE REDMOND,

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Harold’s Cross,

Dublin 6