Public Demonstration to be held TODAY 8th of July at 7pm outside the GPO
A grand Nephew of one of the seven signatories of the Irish proclamation will address this evening’s (8th July) Aontú protest against Gov backed plans to ‘to reconstitute’ the historic and iconic GPO.
Eamonn Ceannt says his Grand Uncle and namesake, was ‘one of that extraordinarily brave and visionary generation who fought in the1916 Rising, lighting the flame that led to Ireland reclaiming that sovereignty”.
“The GPO is not just a link to 1916….it is the link to the ancient pre-imperial history of Ireland that the 1916 Rising evoked. It is a link to the history of the Irish People.
And like all historical links, if not cherished, it becomes fragile, becomes vulnerable. It needs our protection.
Protecting and cherishing that past provides the bedrock on which we maintain and build our society and…… plan for the future.
Some of our historic monuments should be protected for architectural reasons, and the GPO Is one such building.
But……the GPO is so much more than this. It is the primary link that re-unites us with the Ireland that we lost to imperial occupation many centuries previously. It was where the flame of our modern nation state was lit.
The Proclamation, one of the greatest national manifestos ever written, was unveiled outside its doors. A manifesto that is the bedrock of who we are and who we aspire to be. A manifesto that inspired other republican movements across the globe….from India to Africa and the Americas.
It is our national Statement of Identity.
Throughout history, the conqueror has endeavoured to destroy the monuments of the vanquished. By so doing, the conqueror destroys their past.
Today, our Government is in danger of destroying part of our past……part of the history of the Irish people.
I say to our Government……STOP THE GUFF……
Give the Irish people what they want……what they deserve…..a GPO that they can cherish……the foundational link between Modern Ireland and its historic past”.
Relatives of some of the other signatories are expected to be in attendance.
Aontú leader, Deputy Peadar Tóibín has said that any moves to turn the GPO into a cheap, tawdry commercial centre will be strongly resisted.
“Aontú is a pluralist Republican party which honours the vision and the legacy of the men and women of 1916, the bravest of the brave.
This demonstration is for all people who value our freedom and who want to honour the people who made such admirable sacrifices for the cause they held so dearly
The reason that the GPO is so important is because it was the site of the headquarters of the 1916 rising. This was the seminal moment in the birth of our nation. It is the ground zero of our r independence struggle. The rights of every Minister in the Dail to govern come directly from the sacrifice made in that building. Their very sovereignty to be able to make a decision about that building comes from the sacrifice made in that building.
It’s clear that sovereignty is not valued by this government and it’s possible that the building is an embarrassing reminder of this to the government. Moore Street, a national monument and the most important battlefield in the country, has been allowed to decay into dereliction. Now it’s used by people to drink, take drugs and to defecate. This is what FF and FG think of our cultural heritage. Other countries cherish their historical monuments; they respect them.
Aontú believes that the GPO/Moore St Quarter offers the city a massive opportunity for rejuvenation. We feel that the GPO should be repurposed to fulfil the objectives of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic that were read from its steps almost 110 years ago. We believe that the government should use the building to house the project of Irish reunification. The GPO should be preserved in its current state as a national museum focusing on the centuries of the Irish struggle for independence.
The leaders of 1916 who took over the GPO on that fateful April day in 1916 (April 24th)gave their all for a free and unified Ireland dearly. To think that this Government would even contemplate ‘selling ‘the GPO is stomach churning.
Join us this evening and show this Government that you respect our cherished GPO and what is stands for”
