Minister for Heritage Refuses to Protect the Rahilly’s House
Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has criticised the response of Minister Josepha Madigan to a request to designate the House of The O’Rahilly as a protected structure, where the Minister stated that the structure is not considered a protected structure and refused to comment as the property was subject to a live planning application.
Tóibín: “This makes a mockery of the Ministry for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. How is that a Minister whose job it is protect and care for our history and heritage is more concerned over an application for 105 apartments than protecting the house of The O’Rahilly – a 1916 Rising hero. Our national heritage is the last physical connection we have with the sacrifice of our revolutionary leaders. Unless the Minister steps in it is likely to be buried underneath tonnes of concrete. As with Moore St the politics of the greasy till is alive and well in Fine Gael’s Ireland”.
“The Minister has said she is unable to comment on a live planning application. This is completely untrue. The Appeal Court found that a 'building the preservation of which is a matter of national importance is a National Monument'. That being the case here the Minister can designate it as such through the issuing of a preservation order”.
The Minister is perfectly capable of requesting a NIAH survey of the property, and furthermore making recommendations to add the property to the RPS. The Minister is simply choosing not to.
I, and Aontú, call on the government to end her inaction and to take active steps to protect a key part of our nation’s history and that of one of Ireland’s greatest sons – instead of cow-tailing to the wishes of developers over our own history.”
