GRAND NEPHEW OF ONE OF THE 7 SIGNATORIES SPEAKS AT AONTÚ GPO PROTEST
Not on our watch. The GPO will not be allowed to be treated with the same disrespect, disregard and disdain that so many other rich historical sites in Ireland have been.
That was the resounding message at last night’s (8TH July) Aontú public demo against Gov backed plans for proposals that could see the GPO reconstituted for ‘mixed use ‘development.
Speakers at the well attended protest included the Grand Nephew of one of the seven signatories of the Irish proclamation, Independent Republican TD for Laois Brian Stanley, and Aontú Leader, Deputy Peadar Tóibín.
Commending Aontú for being the first party to organise an official public protest against the plans, Deputy Stanley said
“People talk about the GPO as hallowed ground, but it will be hollowed ground if this Government gets its way.
I am delighted to be here this evening in the shadow of one of our dearest buildings which is so much more than just bricks and mortar. It is where Connolly was stretchered out of to be executed and where the dream of a free Ireland truly came into being.
This is bigger than politics. This should be a concerted effort by all who cherish our history and respect those who died for it.
We all need to come together to stop this monstrosity of an idea, it must be an Ireland effort “.
Eamonn Ceannt, Grand Nephew of one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation said 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…STOP GASLIGHTING THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND …
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”.
In an impassioned speech , Deputy Tóibín said
“Last week the government declared a revamp of the GPO consisting of a mixed-use development, with shops and offices joining and a cultural dimension. Were Éamonn Ceannt, Thomas Clarke, James Connolly, Seán Mac Diarmada, Thomas MacDonagh, Patrick Pearse, and Joseph Plunkett executed for mixed use development of shops and offices?
That a monument of this importance would be abused by any modern government is unimaginable.
The GPO is a National Monument. The GPO/ Moore St Area is the most important Battlefield site in the country. The GPO is the most important physical symbol of the struggle for Irish independence.
It is one of the most important connections we have with the men of women of 1916. It is the ground zero, the epicentre of the fire of freedom that was lit in the hearts of that revolutionary generation.
The freedom we have, was forged with the blood sweat and tears that were literally spilled in that building. The democratic rights of the people of the 26 counties were won by the sacrifices that were made in this building. 485 people were killed in and around this building during Easter week 1916 in a strike for freedom for all 32 counties.
This building of the headquarters of the ordinary men and women who took on the biggest empire the world has ever seen.
For what died the sons of Róisín? For Faceless men who for Mark and Dollar, that betray her to the highest bidder?
The rights of every Minister in the Dail to govern comes directly from the sacrifice made in that building. The very sovereignty to they use every day was seeded in this building. Their right to make a decision about the future of the GPO was gained from the sacrifice that happened in the GPO in 1916.
Yet this government disregard, disrespect and show distain for the actions and the people the wrote the birth cert of this nation in their own blood.
But it’s nothing new. look at the record of the Government. The last few years this government have destroyed whole swathes of Irish heritage.
The FF and FG government allowed The O’Rahilly Home in Herbert Park, Dublin, to be demolished. The say that it was in private hands but a decision by the Minister for Heritage to designate it into National Monument would have saved.
The location where the O Rahilly was killed in a hail of British Army bullets is now an outdoor toilet. Literally. Moore Street is a location for drugs, crime and out door defecation.
The former Fine Gael Minister for Heritage appealed a High Court decision that sought to stripped Moore St of its National Monument Status again possibly leaving the area exposed to being destroyed.
Indeed the government has allowed a UK property group to buy Moore St and have blessed their plans to demolish in part the hugely historic terrace of buildings through which the soldiers of 1916 made their retreat.
When I hear of the revamped p[promises for the GPO I think of that fact that Moore Street is sitting derelict for well over a decade. None of the promises of preservation of rejuvenation have come to fruition.
Bodenstown is the resting place of Wolfe Tone. Wolfe Tone is the father of Irish Republicanism. Yet this has been allowed to be part turned into a commercial cemetery, where the highest bidder gets to be buried closest to Wolfe Tone.
The Irish Language so important to the men and women and so much woven into the our very identity is being defunded. The of children being educated in Gaelscoileanna is falling, not because of the lack of interest, but Government uselessness. 25% of parents seek Gael Scoil education for their children but less than 6% receive it.
The question is why is this happening. Why do Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and some of the Independents have such disregard for our heritage.
I believe that that they are embarrassed by this building and all it stands for. I believe that the political class feel mortified by the proclamation. For if you compare and contrast the vision, the actions and the sacrifice of these men and women with mé féinism and incompetence of this government, no wonder they are mortified.
It you read the proclamation of the Irish Republic and you measure the actions of the Irish government, no wonder they’re ashamed. The proclamation demands that we cherish all the children of the nation equally. Yet 100,000 children are in poverty and parents are going into debt to feed their children.
The Proclamation of the Irish Republic declared the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. Mícheal Martin himself has stated that he has no truck with and I quote “ backward looking understanding of sovereignty.”
The Proclamation of a 32 county document. The ownership of Ireland was a 32 county objective. Despite that fact that the key determinants of Irish Unity are aligning for the first time in hundreds of years, this government have for their own narrow party interests refused to pursue it.
The Majority of the southern state support Irish Unity. The majority of young people support Irish Unity. Research is showing that Unity will make us stronger, better off, with better services and infrastructure, yet FF and FG do not want to dilute their own power. These regional parties are now relying on the border to keep them in power.
Simon Harris and Mícheal Martin are currently selling Irish Neutrality. They are changing the law to facilitate Ireland’s participation in Ursula Von Der Leyen’s European Defence Union. They are deleting the triple lock and have stated that they support change in the EU treaties to delete vetos and further dissolve Irih self determination.
They have sold Irish land, Irish forests, Irish Natural Resources and now Irish homes to international venture capitalists and vulture funds.
The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens. This government sought to delete the right to free speech the key engine of a functioning liberal democracy. Censorship was dressed up in the hate speech bill and they tried to delete our civil liberties by forcing it in against the will of the people.
Now the EU is back for more. What would Pearse and Connolly have said if the thought we were swapping London Rule for Brussels rule on the most key democratic rights.
I have no doubt that there is a chasm between the men and women of 1916 and the FF and FG government and they know it. The GPO reminds them of it and they have no interest in giving it the prominence that it needs.
Those who control our understanding of the past, control the future.
This GPO/Moore St offers Ireland amazing Opportunity.
It offers the opportunity to rejuvenate the North Inner City of our great capital. It could be an engine of good healthy development. A cultural quarter foir the arts, the Irish language, song
• It could become a fitting tribute to the men and women of 1916, one that educates, informs and inspires future generations of the Irish people and visitors alike.
• Titanic Belfast has welcomed over 7.5 million visitors since opening in 2012.
• In 2023, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam welcomed 1,208,646 visitors
• GPO received further to 46,834 in 2022.
It is the ground zero of our independence struggle. But there is another battle playing out here today.
There is a battle of value systems. On one side there is the greasy till and the mé féin politics of the establishment, the Celtic tiger developer smashing through Moore St.
On the other side there are the VALUES of the proclamation of the Irish Republic. The most fitting tribute to the men and women of 1916 should be the development of a world class civic museum demonstrating the heroism and sacrifice of the struggle of Irish independence. And the repurposing of the office space in the building to house staff that will be tasked to achieve the objectives of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The Proclamation of the Republic should be our mission statement as a nation. Put the GPO to work to achieve Unity, economic justice for children in poverty, the pursuit of Irish Neutrality and sovereignty. the full realisation of the signatories of the proclamation in our life time”.
Deputy Tóibín has pledged to work for a unified and concerted campaign against these plans for the GPO.He said Aontú will hold meetings all over the country to bolster opposition and work with those who also oppose it
