Restoration work has begun on one of the key sites of the Easter Rising to turn it into a commemorative centre by early next year.
Moore Street was the final headquarters for the Rising leaders and numbers 14-17 are to undergo a €4m restoration process following a long campaign to save the buildings.
Some of the street had been under threat of demolition as a development company wished to regenerate the area.
However, the government purchased numbers 14 to 17 and made the plans for the commemorative centre following pressure from the Save 16 Moore Street campaign.
The Save 16 committee was set up in 2005 to protect the historical site. Number 16 Moore Street was the final headquarters for the Rising leaders, and the surrounding houses were also used by the rebels.
The buildings will be restored back to their state of 1916, and be turned into a commemorative centre as a lasting tribute to the Rising leaders.
Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys said: “Once finished, the new Commemorative Centre will act as a lasting tribute to the 1916 Leaders, allowing people to step back in time to the dramatic final moments of the Rising.”
Save Moore Street secretary John Conway added: “The result here is greater than our wildest dreams. We feel that the minister and the Government have struck the right balance between the need to conserve and the need to regenerate the northern end of the city. It promises to be a vibrant and lively historical monument.”
The Moore Street commemorative centre will be one of the key sites on a new historic trail around Dublin being set up to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising.
The trail will also include a multi-million euro visitor’s centre at the General Post Office on O’Connell Street.
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Work begins on Moore Street commemorative centre