Work on a 1916 Commemorative Centre at the National Monument on Dublin’s Moore Street, which was due to open in the Rising centenary year, is finally to get under way within weeks.
It is expected the museum, estimated to cost at least €16.25 million, will open in 2026, a decade later than planned. It is unlikely to be completed in advance of that year’s Easter Rising commemorations, however, according to the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Work to enable the buildings from 14-17 Moore Street, declared a National Monument in 2007, to be opened to the public was approved by An Bord Pleanála in 2010.
The buildings, the final headquarters of the Easter Rising rebels, remained in private ownership until they were eventually bought by the State in 2015, however. Heather Humphreys, Minister for Arts and Heritage at the time, said the opening of the buildings to the public was a “very important element of the Government’s plans for the 1916 centenary commemorations”.
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Within weeks, the project ground to a halt, however, after relatives of Rising participants took legal action to extend national monument status to most buildings on the east side of Moore Street, several of which had permission for demolition under shopping centre plans.
In March 2016, Mr Justice Max Barrett found in their favour and made orders suspending work on any of the buildings, including the commemorative centre. In February 2018, the Court of Appeal overturned his ruling in full and the new Minister for Heritage Josepha Madigan said the opening of the commemoration centre was a “top priority”.
In December 2019, her department said she was “anxious” to see the work go ahead but it was, “not as yet in a position to say when the project will get under way”.
The heritage portfolio has since moved to the Department of Housing and it is understood Minister for State Malcolm Noonan along with Minister of State for the OPW, Patrick O’Donovan, will in the coming days announce the start of work on the project, which will involve restoration and structural stabilisation work and the reinstatement of 1916-style interiors.
A spokeswoman for the OPW said it is not possible to give a definitive date for completion but it was envisaged it will be “at least the end of 2026 before all stages are fully finished”.
Green Party councillor Donna Cooney, who chaired the Lord Mayor’s Forum on Moore Street, said she was pleased work was finally beginning. “It’s taken quite a bit of time but this centre will provide not only a home for original artefacts but a focal point for the regenerated Moore Street market.”
