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James Connolly Heron, Proinsias O Rathaille and Donna Cooney of the 1916 Relatives Association. Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

1916 relatives lose battle against the State in case over Moore Street site

One of the street’s buildings is declared a national monument.

THE COURT OF Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling which had declared some buildings on Dublin’s Moore Street to be part of a battlefield site comprising a national monument.

The State had taken the appeal after the High Court had found in favour of Colm Moore, who had taken the case on behalf of the 1916 Relatives Association.

In 2015 the government stepped in to buy the site at 14-17 Moore Street, the building where the Rising’s leaders decided to surrender, and declared it a national monument.

The 1916 Relatives Association had argued that other buildings on the street were also entitled to protection and took a case to the High Court.

In late 2016, the High Court ruled that No. 10, part of No. 13 and Nos. 18, 20 and 21 Moore Street were also part of the battlefield site.

But in a judgement today, the Court of Appeal has found that the High Court does not have the jurisdiction to declare these buildings as a national monument.

The three-judge ruling said that this is a “purely policy” decision and could only be done by the government, which is “answerable to the people”.

The Court of Appeal found that the National Monuments Act 1930:

cannot be constitutionally interpreted as to vesting the courts with this function of declaring a particular monument to be a national monument where (as in the present case) this would entail the courts making purely policy assessments without reference to established legal criteria.

“Specifically, the courts could not be given the jurisdiction to make such a determination by reference to purely policy considerations such as whether the preservation of a particular monument was a matter of national importance,” the ruling added.

Reaction

Reacting to today’s decision, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan said that the State had taken the decision to appeal the High Court judgement following concerns that it could have had implications for “important national infrastructure projects”.

“This was an extremely complex and wide-reaching case and I will study the judgment in detail with my officials to see what the full effect of it is,” the minister said.

The preservation of the State-owned national monument building at 14-17 Moore Street – the final headquarters of the 1916 leaders – and opening them to the public, remains the top priority and will obviously be the major influence over our thinking.

90424024_90424024 The Moore Street site. (Pictured in 2016) RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

The 1916 Relatives Association has said it is not currently considering an appeal to the Supreme Court but will study the judgement in detail before responding in full.

“Obviously we’re disappointed with today’s result, but the campaign to recognise and celebrate the historical and cultural significance of the Moore Street area will go on,” the association’s Donna Cooney said this afternoon.

Cooney, who is also a member of the Green Party, said their priority is to have a “cultural quarter” in the area.

“We have a unique opportunity to preserve this historic quarter, and link it up to the new cultural quarter at Parnell Square and the GPO museum. This would be hugely beneficial for the area and add so much to the city,” she said.

Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín said that the area has been ”sterilised by years of legal cases” and called on the Taoiseach to “do the right thing” and declare the entire site as a national monument.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the government would like to “read the judgement ourselves”.

Read: 1916 victory: Moore Street has been declared a ‘battlefield site’ >

Read: Government to appeal decision to protect Moore Street battlefield site to Supreme Court >

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33 Comments
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    Mute Martin Brennan
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:12 PM

    Why oh why the surprise Fine Gael are past masters at attacking the poorest in society from children’s footwear to water charges. Leo epitomizes the contempt for those just getting by. Attacking Mary is fine but is a distraction from the fine dining he and his fellow politicians enjoy at the tax payers expense.
    Bet the state dinner for Micky D cost a fair euro the wine alone probably was over 100euro a bottle.
    Attacking the vulnerable is Leo and his buddy Eoins first resort as all the homeless children on our streets attest to

    189
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    Mute Seanniemac1983
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:00 PM

    @Martin Brennan: mot defending AT ALL, I hate FG, but, maybe he looks after the richest because they actually get out and vote. People on lower rates of income talk a lot, moan a lot, post on Journal a lot but they don’t go out and vote en masse. Just look at SF polling vs outcomes over previous elections. Their support base are working class who simply don’t vote

    55
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    Mute Martin Brennan
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:20 PM

    @Seanniemac1983: Your absolutely correct and it won’t change unfortunately and those who write the political spin in our media are so self absorbed they just write to promote a culture that keeps them in good jobs while auditioning for lucrative government advisors i.e Chris O Donoghue formerly Denis o Brien employee (technically he was self employed)

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    Mute Seanniemac1983
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    Nov 20th 2018, 10:32 PM

    @Martin Brennan: Would love to see mandatory voting. Results would be very interesting. Or even max two terms as TD so they’re not 100% fixated on re-election all the time

    13
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    Mute David Daly
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    Nov 20th 2018, 11:05 PM

    @Seanniemac1983: I would love to see any candidate worth voting for. That’s probably why people on lower incomes don’t vote, because they can’t be arsed voting in the next batch of thieves

    15
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    Mute Charles Williams
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:10 PM

    Currently a nurse can claim €733 expenses in respect of buying and laundering uniforms, this compares with around €38,000 for a TD. It’s the €733 that Revenue are targeting not the €38,000.

    106
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    Mute Alan Walter Gallagher
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:32 PM

    @Charles Williams: TDs get €38000 for laundering their “uniforms”?! Mind you, if theyre laying €60000 in tax on their €200000 wages it about evens out.

    See how I made up the figures too! #smh

    19
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    Mute Jumperoo
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:12 PM

    Announce a measure where shop workers will lose €120 a year, and Sinn Fein says it’s a significant amount that they shouldn’t have to go without. But if a Budget change meant that somebody on shop worker wages would be better off by €120 a year, the likes of SF would says it’s an insult and a pittance of less than €2.50 per week. Anybody who keeps saying FFG out, to give something new a chance, should recognise that SF are just as two faced as the rest of them.

    98
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    Mute Brinster
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    Nov 21st 2018, 5:52 AM

    @Jumperoo:

    It’s not €120 per year either.

    It’s a deduction – not a credit.

    So for anyone earning less than €35k, it’s worth €24 per year.

    Fifty cent per week.

    As you say, if you have someone a tax break worth fifty cent per week, SF would go ballistic.

    8
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    Mute Adrian
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:11 PM

    I wonder will politicians expenses be included in this expenses crackdown or is it one law for them and a different law of everybody else.

    65
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    Mute Paul Mc
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:10 PM

    Varadkar acts like a big spoilt child most days.

    110
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    Mute Irish big fellow
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:18 PM

    Surely at this stage of our development as a mature State, it should be possible for all workers to claim expenses for only genuine vouched expenses. This includes civil servants and public service workers and of course all our public representatives in the Oireachtas and Local Authorities.
    There would be a massive saving of public expenditure that could be given to those most in need.
    Are those in authority brave enough to make such a decision.?

    26
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    Mute Fr. Fintan Stack
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    Nov 21st 2018, 2:18 AM

    @Irish big fellow: So a private sector electrician would be entitled to expenses . But a public service one wouldn’t?

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    Mute ⚡ Seánie ⚡
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:10 PM

    How does one go about claiming back for tools and uniform????????????

    26
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    Mute Donncha
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:15 PM

    @Seánie: You don’t claim back. You just get extra tax credits if you have certain jobs, meaning you pay a little less tax. You can check to see if Flat Rate Expenses is on your tax credit cert.

    26
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    Mute David Daly
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:23 PM

    @⚡ Seánie ⚡: go to revenue website log in and look up flat rate expenses, it’s not a lot you can get. It’s a set amount, if you spent 600 on tools in a year you can still only claim 152 for sparks allowances. None of the other trades matter so they get nothing

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    Mute ⚡ Seánie ⚡
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:38 PM

    @David Daly: Cheers. I’ll look into it. Every bit helps.

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    Mute John Meade
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:42 PM

    @⚡ Seánie ⚡: can backdate for 4 years too

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    Mute Stephen Duffy
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:44 PM

    Interesting to hear Leo’s response to Mary-Lou’s questioning on this matter in the Dáil today. Leo accused Mary-Lou of hypocrisy because she was in New York at a $400 a plate dinner. He accused her of rubbing shoulders with the “super wealthy”… Honestly on what planet is paying $400 for a meal at a political fund-raised the domain of the “super wealthy” Honestly I’d id pay $400 to attend a meal for a cause (political or charitable) I believed in…

    31
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    Mute Keith
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:13 PM

    Leo the king of spinning & for wasting more money on photo oops on his twitter acct with his stupid socks .fine Gael biggest spenders of tax payers money .

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    Mute Mick Cullen
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    Nov 20th 2018, 8:42 PM

    How much does the lackeys in leinster house lose with this hit on the poor

    32
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    Mute Don
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    Nov 20th 2018, 11:37 PM

    This seems really mean hearted but it should be offset by other tax cuts promised for workers. The middle income class are paying for just about everything and get very little back in tax breaks. The very least that the government should do is put away a taxpayer’s USC contribution into a personal pension fund. Especially so for those workers that dont have any other employer pension contributions. Australia puts 9% of workers pay into personal pensions. Ireland is backward and is elitist in this regard.

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    Mute Liam Byrne
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    Nov 20th 2018, 9:08 PM

    Well, if they’re modest, they won’t be missed too much.

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