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Westmeath TD slams "disgraceful betrayal of Ireland’s history"
Sinn Féin TD for Longford-Westmeath, Sorca Clarke, says government plans to turn the GPO into shopping units and offices represent "yet another shameful betrayal of Ireland’s proud revolutionary history" by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
Deputy Clarke ha called for the development of a 1916 Cultural Quarter and the implementation of the Masterplan set out by the Moore Street Trust.
The Longford-Westmeath TD said: “Government’s plan to turn one of the most significant sites in Ireland’s revolutionary history, the GPO, into shopping units and office space for corporations is utterly shameful.
“The place where the Irish Republic was declared, where it was bravely defended during the Easter Rising. This historic building is the most iconic site of our nations’ struggle for freedom and the idea of selling it off for a soulless commercial project is not only disgraceful, it is another example of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s betrayal of Ireland’s proud revolutionary history."
The proposal has raised the ire of the SF deputy: “What has Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael got against the heroic men and women of 1916? In no other country that fought for its independence would you encounter such blatant disrespect and vandalism of the nation’s hallowed ground.
“I note the proposal for a museum and cultural centre at the GPO but it’s hard to take at face value given that the promise of a 1916 Commemorative Centre at 14-17 Moore Street just around the corner still hasn’t been fulfilled almost a decade later."
Deputy Clarke said the move marks a trend of the governing parties: “Following the government’s shameful decision to back the handing over of the Moore Street battlefield site to a British property developer to pave over for profit, one would be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are hellbent on erasing the legacy of the Easter Rising.
“The regeneration of Dublin city must be grounded in a vision for progress. The Master Plan presented by the Moore Street Preservation Trust is that plan. It’s a vision worthy of Ireland’s revolutionary heritage and one which will drive regeneration, jobs, housing, community revitalisation and an exciting future."
She said her party have a viable proposal for the site: “Sinn Féin has set out a clear vision in my colleague Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD’s Bill to develop a 1916 culture quarter.
“This is what our capitcal city needs, not another shopping centre built on the sacred ground of Ireland’s revolutionary history, a history that belongs to the people, not to private developers.”