The great-grandson of Irish Republican icon James Connolly has stepped into a row over the future of a Dublin battle site from the 1916 Easter Rising.
Plans are afoot to demolish buildings around Moore Street, described as the "last battlefield" of the Rising and nicknamed "Dublin's Alamo." A plaque on the site declares it was where the rebels surrendered to the British after retreating from the blazing General Post Office. It has been revealed that a shopping center could be built at the site following demolition, but the move has angered both politicians and historians, just four years before the centenary of the Rising.
James Connolly Heron is prominent in the campaign to not only to stop the wrecking balls, but also to preserve the area due to its national significance.
"People are waking up to the fact that we have four years until the centenary," said Connolly Heron.
"We need something to show the Gathering in 2016. Are we going to show people a monument to the rising, or are we going to show them a shopping center that is a monument to the Celtic Tiger," he added.
The Moore Street site is one of the few remaining original locations from the Rising, with many having been demolished.
Sinn Féin leader and Louth TD Gerry Adams has joined calls to save the site, suggesting it could house a "cultural education center" and his call has been echoed by members of the other main parties.
"No public representative supports the plan as is. From that point of view we can be optimistic. It's now time to take action. It's time to walk the walk. It's a very modest demand. What we are asking is that what is already a designated national monument be protected, so that future generations will still remember," said Adams.
