The Lord Mayor of Dublin has appealed for the Government not to appeal against a court ruling on expanding the national monument for the Moore Street battlefield site.
Criona Ni Dhalaigh, Sinn Fein councillor, said the ruling was a momentous decision and that she hoped regeneration off Henry Street and behind the GPO will spearhead the revival of other precincts.
A redevelopment plan for Moore Street, which the Lord Mayor ordered and described as visionary, is expected to be ready before she leaves office in June.
“I seek the support and encouragement of all Dubliners in preparing this plan. We have a fine city; but many of us have observed with dismay as parts of the city have fallen victim to decay and urban blight,” she said.
“It is my fervent wish that the appropriate regeneration of the Moore Street area will lead the way in the further rejuvenation of North Inner City Dublin.”
The Lord Mayor said the Moore Street site had moved centre stage, with the 1916 commemorations stimulating “extraordinary engagement” and pride of Dubliners.
She said it is an area of historic and cultural importance and a focal point for the rejuvenation of the area of the city.
Only the terrace at 14-17 Moore Street had been subject to a preservation order dating back to 2007 which gave developers a green light for a huge commercial project running from the old Carlton cinema site fronting O’Connell Street to part of the old 1916 battlefield site behind the GPO.
But last month’s ruling stopped those plans and the initial construction work on the Government’s proposals for a 1916 Commemorative Centre at No 16.
Despite the complex 400-page ruling, there is no onus on Heather Humphreys, Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht, to issue a preservation order on the wider site.
Demolition and unauthorised works on 13-19 Moore Street are now banned until the minister applies to the court with a plan on how to proceed and seeks to vary that order.
Buildings and land covered by the ruling were due to be developed by Chartered Land.