The desecration of Moore Street
A dagger through Dublin's heart
Growing up in Dublin in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s was a magical time. A time I still remember with extreme fondness. It wasn’t quite the ‘rare ould times’ that the late, great Pete St. John wrote about, but they were still, and will always be, the rare ould times for me. His moving, timeless ballad was written in the late ‘70’s, a few years before I was born, so St. John (real name Peter Mooney) was lamenting the passing of an even simpler time — in an even simpler time. A time in which he witnessed the slow, but sure creep of modernity beginning to concrete over the memory of his own childhood in the city he loved. A nostalgic, melancholic picture of an age that long preceded my formative years, but one I can relate to now far more than I would ever wish to. The stories my parents and grandparents have recanted through the years leave me in no doubt, that the sentiments echoed within the song, where justifiably sorrowful, considering what was progressively being left behind and fading to memory. It’s become somewhat of a cliché now but it doesn’t make it any less true, they hadn’t much but they were happy and what little they had, they shared.
Although I did most of my growing up in Clondalkin, still to this day when I’m asked what part of Dublin I am from, I will always say Dolphin’s Barn. I don’t know why, I just always have done and still even now, when I’m driving through the area, I still get the feeling that I am in my spiritual home. My early years were spent in the flats and all my family are from there. I spent a lot of my early teens there also in the Ferrini Youth club, so it will always be in my heart and part of me. My grandmother still lives down in The Liberties, just around the corner from Pimlico, a part of Dublin which features heavily in the aforementioned song. My three children were also all born in the Coombe Hospital, so even the next generation of my family have an unbroken connection to the area.
I drove down the quays only last week and the memories of childhood came flooding back to me. I could smell the scent of fermented barley in the air coming from the Guinness factory. It is an extremely distinctive smell that lingers in the air all around James’ Street, but can be detected in almost all of Dublin 8 and even across the river, in many parts of Dublin 7 as far as Arbour Hill and Stoneybatter. It is a smell that only real Dubs find pleasant. My kids — who are now unfortunately ‘Lilly Whites’ — expressed a mild revulsion at the intoxicating fumes both myself and my wife (who also lived close enough to smell them as a child) nostalgically and joyfully inhaled. We playfully joked that they would never make good Dubs if they couldn’t embrace the ambient fragrance of what was once our part of the world. It is a part of the world that has inflicted upon me an unshakeable Dublin brogue, that no matter how much my writing may gradually improve, pronouncing my ‘th’s’ is a feat that will always remain out of reach for me. Believe me I’ve tried, but it just comes across contrived and unnatural, so I stopped bothering long ago. Being yourself is more authentic anyway — so that’s my story.
The main shopping streets for inner city southsiders were Meath Street and Thomas Street, where I used to go almost every Friday after school with my mother and grandmother, to look for bargains in the Liberty Market and also get meat from the butchers. This led me to believe as a young boy, the name of the street was ‘Meat Street’ rather than it being actually called after the neighbouring Royal County. We would regularly venture into the city too and my father, a history buff, made sure we saw every single gallery and museum and developed an appreciation for culture. It worked! We would then inevitably go into Stephen’s Green to feed the ducks.
The two main shopping streets in the city centre for working class Dubs were on the northside however, so we had to make the brave journey across the Liffey, taking our lives into our hands (joke lads, relax don’t batter me ha). At Christmas in particular, you would hear the cries on Henry Street of “Wrappin’ papor, get yor wrappin’ papor”. But all year round, you could hear the lyrical tones of the true heart and soul of Dublin. It beated from the women on Moore Street. “Apples five for fifty” is a sales pitch from the street dealers that has been embedded into my consciousness from an early age, but those words have sadly now increasingly become the soundtrack to a bygone age. The heart has literally been systematically ripped out of Dublin and it is no more evident anywhere else, than it is on that street. I personally believe it’s a deliberate cultural and even spiritual attack on the people of Dublin. As a southsider, even I must concede that the staunchest people in the city, quite possibly the country, are the Dubs of the north inner city. Particularly the women. They are hard as nails. I should know, I married one.
To see the state of Moore Street now, would rip the heart out of the chest of any proud Dubliner. It no longer has any identity. It’s dilapidated. On a street that was always authentically and quintessentially Dublin, what presently stands in its place, is a run down basket case devoid of soul. A stereotypical Skid-Row and a victim of deliberate neglect by Dublin City Council, leading to urban decay on a street that should be a national shrine. The famous butcher shop F.X. Buckley still remains, but the incongruence of neighbouring ethnic food shops, African hair salons, Indian phone shops and the spectre of Roma Gyspies begging at the side entrance of the Ilac Centre is difficult to stomach. It’s a complete mess and a microcosm for the reckless insanity that now holds sway across the whole country. It is a rancid example of the very worst multiculturalism has to offer. What was once a thriving market has deteriorated due to lack of any proper investment or political will. They simply don’t want street traders there any more. they want to put an end to 200 years of history, for what? To make room for street beggars and UK property investment firms?
In an Irish Times article back in 2019, street traders were highlighting the lack of investment from Dublin City Council regarding Moore Street. The Council who were crying poverty, were somehow still able to appoint a task force to draft a report. The Moore Street Advisory Group of course went for the easy option of highlighting infrastructural issues such as lack of toilet facilities (which they could have remedied) and “antisocial behaviour and criminality, including drug dealing, illegal cigarette selling and assaults”. Would these issues not be at the very least partially a symptom of the neglect of the council rather than solely the blame of the traders, as seemed to be somewhat implied. The livelihood of the dealers — who are a Dublin institution — was given little regard by the city’s management class, it is clear they see them as a nuisance and no longer want them dealing on the street.
This passage from the article in question is quite telling, the opening two sentences were from Independent Dublin Central TD Maureen O’Sullivan:
In addition to the neglect of the market and crime on the street, the proposed development of its east side by UK property group Hammerson would inevitably cause difficulties for the traders, she said.
“When development starts it is likely they will not be able to continue trading for a considerable period. They need to know what their options are, whether that’s a suspension of their licence or if it would be preferable to consider relinquishing their licences.”
Fruit and vegetable seller Tom Cullen said Moore Street market was being deliberately neglected by the council. “If the street was cleaned up, we would stay here, but we are being completely ignored and dumped on.”
Moore Street trader Margaret Hanway said the council had repeatedly claimed it had no money to upgrade the market. “We asked for proper street lights, they say they have no money, but they can find €5 million for the people in the market?”
(*The market refers to the indoor Victorian fruit market that closed its doors).
In 2021, Hammerson, a property firm from the UK were granted planning permission to redevelop a section of Moore Street, close to the row of terraced houses at numbers 14-17, which is now a national monument due to it’s historical significance during the Rising. The occupants of the GPO headquarters, retreated to these buildings and the decision by the leaders to surrender, was made in the backroom of No. 16, the increasing loss of innocent civilian life, was the reasoning put forward by Seán MacDermott to the surrounded men who wanted to fight on. Pearse formally surrendered to the British on Moore Street, but 24 hours earlier Michael — more commonly known as The O’Rahilly, perished close by on Sackville Lane after he led a charging party of men into British gunfire, he died after lying there bleeding for hours in which time he penned a note to his wife. The note read as follows: “Written after I was shot – Darling Nancy I was shot leading a rush up Moore Street took refuge in a doorway. While I was there I heard the men pointing out where I was + I made a bolt for the lane I am in now. I got more than one bullet I think, Tons and tons of love dearie to you + the boys + to Nell + Anna. It was a good fight anyhow. Please deliver this to Nannie O’Rahilly, 40 Herbert Park, Dublin Good bye darling”.
O’Rahilly’s family home of 40 Herbert Park (addressed in the note) was bulldozed to the ground during the lockdown in 2020 after an insane decision was made by An Bord Pleanála to do so. This is the respect certain bureaucrats within the civil service have for our heritage. Campaigners justifiably fear that these buildings may suffer the same fate should any redevelopment take place. Moore Street Preservation Trust have opposed plans for this development and were granted judicial review in November. This area is the cradle of our republic. What sane establishment would not want to preserve this whole site and give it the reverence and respect it deserves. But therein lies the answer. We are not dealing with sane people, we are dealing with lunatics who have such a visceral contempt for the Irish people, they not only want to change us, but they also want to erase our history. What other explanation makes more sense. Incompetence doesn’t explain away what has been going on for years now. Stupidity has limits, even for unsackable bureaucrats and beyond those limits lie other factors, malice being chief among them. All of this mentioned above is before we add into the mix yet another recent provocation.
I read a recent article on Gript by Dr. Matt Treacy which I will link below for your perusal. In the article he reports on the likelihood of an IPAS centre coming to Moore Street and is quite measured and reserved in his language using terms like, “the ongoing controversy regarding future plans for the street”. Controversy I fear — considering this latest development — may well be a slightly inadequate description and possibly the understatement of the century. This to me is a deliberate provocation. No question. After all the previous controversy this is just a bridge too far.
The article states:
The application was registered on December 16 by a company called Secure Accommodation Enterprises and refers to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) as already having accepted that proposed renovations will make it “suitable for its temporary use as accommodation for displaced persons or persons seeking international protection.”
Secure Accommodation Enterprises was only registered with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) in May 2024 and is based in Drogheda. However, there are three other companies registered at the same address and in the same ownership and which were incorporated in September 2023 and September 2022.
I ask you this people of Ireland. Is there nothing left now that’s sacred? Is our history and the birth of our nation, now to be demeaned and swept aside in such a distasteful manner, just so greedy company directors can make quick easy money using compassion and human suffering as a cover story? When is enough? This needs to be stopped immediately. This cannot be allowed to happen. Republicans should be up in arms over this. The ‘Save Moore Street’ group also. Everyone needs to come together on this and put aside any ideological differences to prevent it from happening. The migration issue has been used extremely effectively by the establishment and media alike to plot out the clear demarcation lines of the political left and right. Declaring any opposition to mass migration as inherently racist, prompting those not wanting to be called as such to choose their side. That narrative has been largely defeated now, so it is time we move forward and not allow capitalist greed to destroy our nation’s heritage. The Moore Street issue has been championed largely by people ideologically closer to Republican Socialists and they have campaigned admirably and successfully until now.
The only real glaring difference between them and the people who have been labelled the ‘far right’, is a strong opposition to open borders. Now the question is being asked of them. They are putting it up to you Republicans, they are testing the water to see if it’s hot and if you are prepared to be demonised and vilified. This however is an issue many will feel you cannot ignore if you really wish to save Moore Street. This is not just about saving buildings, it is about what those buildings represent. It’s about saving our story. The story of the birth of the Irish nation. This is where the Venn diagram intersects between the Moore Street issue and the mass migration issue. At the heart of both is a simple human vice that cares for neither. It is the deadly sin of greed. Money is all this comes down to and deep down you know it too.
They will draw the line for you, that much is almost certain. The only question that remains is, will you step over it? You are the rightful champions of this cause and the natural leaders. You have shown already the passion, preparedness and organisational skills needed for this fight. Do not allow them to use subterfuge and misdirection to undo all the hard work you’ve put in up until now. If you do not take the lead on this, others may well do. It may be those already successfully demonised by the media, leading to diminished returns and a lesser chance of success. It is up to you to not allow that to happen. How much do you want to save Moore Street? Now it faces its biggest threat yet.
https://gript.ie/proposal-to-site-asylum-centre-on-moore-street-may-prove-to-be-controversial/
I was born in Sutton in the forties, before it and Howth became posh 😡 In the sixties I went overseas to work in many different countries. However, I initially always tried to return home for Christmas, with my first port of call being Moore Street - it was chaotic and magical. Subsequently, I became disenchanted and thoroughly pissed off with the gentrification of my familiar haunts and stopped visiting them. In my old age, I live in a small village in Donegal... where has our Irish essence/vitality vanished...
Excellent article Stephen 👌