Marie Cullen unpacked tomatoes and organised bunches of grapes at her stall on Moore Street in Dublin on Thursday morning, watching on as three Ministers were told of the historical significance of the buildings beside her.
Cullen spoke to a passerby and pointed to the buildings before shaking her head.
Minister for Housing James Browne was visiting to announce Government approval for a 1916 Rising commemorative centre at 14-17 Moore Street to proceed to tender stage. Originally due to open in time for the centenary of the Rising, the project has been plagued by delays for years.
The buildings near Cullen’s stall were the final headquarters of the 1916 rebels. They were declared a national monument in 2007, and work to enable them to be opened to the public was approved by An Bord Pleanála three years later.
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Cullen’s family has had a stall on Moore Street for four generations and she said a commemorative centre had been mooted before her mother died.
“She’s been dead for 25 years, and she used to say to me: ‘I’ll be pushing up daisies when it happens.’ Now I’m saying exactly the same.”
Cullen, who described the buildings as being “in bits”, believes their regeneration would draw people into an area that has been allowed to become “really wrecked”.
“It’s not nice to see it. It’s part of our heritage.”
Speaking to media following a tour of the buildings, Browne said the national monument is “absolutely critical”.
While it would be “very difficult to put an exact timeline” on when the centre will be completed, he said it could take two to three years but would “move as quickly as possible”.
“Getting it right is what’s the most important thing here,” he added.
Flanked by Ministers of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran and John Cummins, Browne said he could not discuss a projected price during the tender stage, but he expected “very significant costs” would be involved.
“With very old buildings like this you cannot be certain what you’re finding as you’re forensically repairing and protecting these buildings,” he said.
“This is all about telling the story of what happened in 1916 and those who were fighting for Irish freedom, but also about preserving the history around the buildings as well.”
Works on the buildings, bought by the State in 2015, previously stalled after relatives of 1916 rebels took legal action to extend national monument status to most buildings on the east side of Moore Street.
A ruling made in their favour in 2016 suspended work on any of the buildings, including the museum, though this was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2018.
Work on the commemorative centre was finally due to begin in 2023 at an estimated cost of at least €16.25 million. However, it emerged in 2024 that the Office of Public Works had not yet sought contractors and the project required fresh ministerial consent.
Alongside works to conserve 14-17 Moore Street, space to the rear of the national monument, at 8-9 Moore Lane, will be host a “complementary visitor and cultural venue”, the Department of Housing said.
Asked if she expected the project to be completed within the next three years, Marie Cullen replied: “Dream on.”
