A new plan has been called upon to save the Moore Street Battlefield Site and develop it as an historic cultural quarter.

UK property development and investment company Hammerson are the current owners of most of the site.

Ardmhéara Mícheál Mac Donncha wishes to make clear that they will not proceed with the previous plan for a giant shopping mall.

Last year, various buildings on Moore Street were declared a “battlefield site” by the High Court.

Speaking in the Mansion House this morning, Ardmhéara Mícheál Mac Donncha said:

“Moore Street and its adjacent lanes are especially important as an existing 1916 battlefield site where much of the built fabric, and all of the original street layout, remain intact. Intact yes, but still under grave threat.

“Let us never forget that, but for the vigilance and determination of individual citizens and concerned organisations, there would be no national monument today on Moore Street. Instead there would be rubble or vacant sites or a giant shopping mall, drowning the memory of our patriots in rootless, soul-less constructions, temples of mass consumerism and corporate greed.

“I commend the campaigners who, over many years, have saved Moore Street from this fate. Many of you are here today.

“Unlike Wood Quay, Moore Street has not been bulldozed.

“Like Kilmainham Jail Moore Street has been saved from the bulldozer, but unlike Kilmainham Jail, it has not been transformed into what it could and should be – yet.

“I commend also the street traders who have helped to keep Moore Street alive, against the odds, and against all the predictions that the street would decline and die. They are carrying on a long and lively tradition but they are also trying to make a livelihood and we should never forget that and we should support and assist them in every way we can.

“What we need now clearly, and what the Report of the Consultative Group points to, is a new plan. What is the first requirement for such a plan?

“The first requirement is a clear commitment from the owners of most of the site, Hammersons, that, regardless of the outcome of the legal case, they do not intend to proceed with the Chartered Land plan and that they intend to work together with all stakeholders to develop a new plan. That is, I believe, a pre-requisite for progress.

“The work of the Consultative Group and its Advisory/Oversight Group, timetabled in the Report, is ongoing, and today’s symposium is part of that work. The Report of the Consultative Group recommends the establishment, at an appropriate time, of a cross-Departmental group, chaired by a lead Minister, with Ministerial representation from OPW, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as well as officials from Dublin City Council and line Departments. I look forward to the establishment of that group.”