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Irish Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Plans to open historic buildings as Easter Rising visitor centre may take years
Plans to open a number of historic buildings in the capital as a visitor centre commemorating the Easter Rising may still take several years. Junior Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has informed the Dáil that while the project is a priority for his Government, it wasn't yet possible to say when it would be open to the public. The buildings at 14-17 Moore Street have been at the centre of a major campaign to preserve them due to their historical significance to the 1916 Rising. The buildings were the headquarters of the Provisional Irish Government, and it is where a number of signatories of the Irish proclamation, including James Connolly and Patrick Pearse, surrendered from. The Government previously decided to accept the recommendations of the Moore Street Advisory Group to move ahead with a project to conserve the buildings and open it as a visitor site. However, Minister Moran admitted it was still too early to say when that would happen. Kevin "Boxer" Moran Under questioning from Sinn Féin TD, Aengus O Snodaigh, Minister Moran said: 'It is not possible, in advance of the approval of Ministerial Consent, to be precise about the timing of construction works; however, the project at Moore Street is a priority and it is anticipated that there will be meaningful progress onsite in 2026.' Deputy O'Snodaigh said there were concerns about dry rot other causes for the rotting of fabrics in the structure of the national monument . Mr Moran said: 'In response to concerns about fabric deterioration, including issues such as dry rot and timber decay, the OPW has engaged specialist consultants in historic timber, plaster, and wallpaper conservation. 'These experts have conducted targeted surveys and provided professional guidance to identify and mitigate risks to the buildings' most vulnerable features. These reports inform interim protective measures and I can assure the Deputy that the buildings are being carefully maintained and protected.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
A Tipperary All-Ireland final day tradition like no other
Almost 102 years ago, Tipperary captain Johnny Leahy stepped off the train in Heuston Station and led his team to the GPO. They had the delayed 1922 All-Ireland senior hurling final against Kilkenny to play that September day in 1923 but it was a pilgrimage for other reasons too. On O'Connell Street, they paid their silent respects to the fallen of the Easter Rising before making the short stroll to Talbot Street. There, where their fellow countyman, GAA member and Tipperary IRA leader Seán Treacy perished two years earlier, they recited prayers before walking to Croke Park for the job in hand although Kilkenny won out. Ever since, Tipperary people have marked their appearance in an All-Ireland final with a commemoration of Treacy's death. Sunday is the 28th since Leahy commenced a tradition like no other. Without it, All-Ireland final day wouldn't be the same for many Tipperary supporters. 'I can tell you one thing, if it wasn't done, there would be an outcry,' says former county chairman and co-organiser Seán Nugent. 'It's a sort of an unofficial event but I received several phone-calls to know if it was going ahead. If it wasn't, some of us would be getting plenty of stick!' It's as much now a gathering to hold up a custom started by the county team and a poignant means of starting the build-up on the day as a remembrance of how intertwined the GAA was with the republican cause. Soloheadbeg man Treacy would have been known to many of the 1922 Tipperary team, especially Leahy. A protagonist in the first shots of the War of Independence at his homeplace in 1919, the 25-year-old was later a member of Michael Collins's 'Squad' with his great friend Dan Breen. He died on October 14 1920, a month before Bloody Sunday, killed by the British Secret Service while himself fatally shooting one of them. Two bystanders also died in that flurry of bullets outside Peadar Clancy's drapery shop at 94 Talbot Street. For Nugent, this will be his 19th commemoration. He's been attending since the 1961 All-Ireland final when Toomevara's Matt Hassett, who passed away earlier this year, was the winning captain. For many years, Nugent and Liam Ó Donnchú, who will be master of ceremonies at Sunday's event beginning at noon, had been assisting historian John Hassett who had been vital to keeping the flaming lit. After Hassett's passing in late 2019, the duty now falls to them. Songs including 'Tipperary So Far Away', which was composed by Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers in Treacy's honour, and 'Amhrán na bhFiann' will be sung. 'The Proclamation of the Irish Republic' will too be read. 'For many people, the oration sends them up the road to Croke Park in great spirits,' says Nugent. 'In 2016, Seamus Leahy (Johnny's nephew) led the commemoration. At the end of it, he said, 'And the very best of luck to both teams today. May the best team win and may that team be wearing blue and gold jerseys.'' This weekend's commemoration is significant for a few reasons: it is obviously the first since John Hassett passed away but his daughter Niamh will be giving a decade of The Rosary at it. GAA president Jarlath Burns will be part of the ceremony too along with Tipperary band Rebel Hearts. 'John took the whole thing fairly seriously,' Nugent says. 'And it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to organise either because you had to get a public address system set up there in Talbot Street. Parking cars and traffic can be difficult around there on that day. 'John had a huge grá for remembering our patriotic dead and not for him it may not have continued. We're following his example now and hopefully we can keep it going.' In a first-ever Tipperary-Cork All-Ireland final, the indelible connection between Treacy and Collins will not be lost either and a large Cork representation will be among the couple of thousand people expected to attend. Treacy's death also came 11 days before Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney's following his hunger strike in Brixton Jail in London. Treacy now lies in the cemetry in Churchquarter, Kilfeacle between Golden and Tipperary town. The Kilcommon club in West Tipperary is named after him as is Arravale Rovers's grounds in Tipperary town. His memory is enshrined by those institutions but for many he is the start of a Tipperary All-Ireland final day.
Extra.ie
4 days ago
- Politics
- Extra.ie
President issues statement following meeting with Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs
President Michael D. Higgins has described his meeting this morning with Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, as productive, with the two discussing environmental justice and sustainable development. Yesterday, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris welcomed Vieira to Dublin to commence the first-ever official visit by a Brazilian foreign minister to Ireland, despite a high population of Brazilian immigrants in Ireland. In 2018, Brazil was ranked first in the top 10 registered nationalities in Ireland at 16% of the overall total, according to the Irish census. 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Ireland and Brazil officially establishing diplomatic relations. Vieira's visit is the highest level of diplomatic engagement by a Brazilian politician to Ireland since. In his statement, President Higgins thanked Vieira and praised Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's work on climate-related issues amid 'extremely challenging conditions' in the country. After President Lula won the 2022 election over far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, supporters of Bolsonaro attacked federal government buildings in Brazil's capital, refusing to accept Lula's presidency. 'I very much welcome the opportunity of meeting with Foreign Minister Vieira today and of expressing my support as President of Ireland for the vital work which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Government are doing, in extremely challenging conditions,' the President wrote. The visit came at a historic time for Brazil, as the country is set to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November. President Higgins referenced diplomat, humanitarian and Easter Rising leader Roger Casement, who worked as a consul in the region of Belém in 1907. Casement was renowned for his reports exposing atrocities committed against native workers in the Amazon. 'For those who believe in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and sustainable development, globally and within Europe, he [President Lula] is the best ally which they have internationally in achieving these goals,' President Higgins wrote. 'At COP30 in Belém in Brazil in November, a city with which Ireland has a connection through the work of Roger Casement, there needs to be an effective alliance to resist the domination of COP by lobbyists on behalf of oil and logging.' Brazil held the presidency of the G20 in 2024, which focused heavily on environmental issues. Under the G20, Brazil drafted the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, a multilateral treaty supporting the elimination of hunger and poverty to regions around the world, which Ireland signed at last year's G20 summit. 'I commend Brazil on the strong focus placed on sustainable development during its Presidency of the G20, and I am very pleased that Ireland has joined the Global Alliance Against Poverty and Hunger established by President Lula,' President Higgins wrote. The President also discussed the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation, which aims to encourage and facilitate sustainable development of the Amazon. The Amazon Rainforest is the largest and most biodiverse rainforest in the world, covering 40% of the South American continent and producing 20% of Earth's oxygen. However, 40% of the areas of the Amazon rainforest most critical to curbing climate change had not been granted special government protection in 2024 amid massive deforestation. Economic losses because of deforestation in Brazil are estimated to be 7 times more than the cost of all commodities produced through deforestation. According to the Amazon Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information, up to 23.7 million hectares of forest in the Amazon may have been lost in the past five years— an area around 3.5 times that of Ireland. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation has been one way Brazil and its allies have attempted to combat the negative impacts of deforestation through regional cooperation and strategising for a solution. 'The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation represents one of the most positive voices with regard to the long view of climate change,' President Higgins wrote. 'Under grave difficulties, they are seeking to fight against the speculative money funding illegal logging and the thousands involved in lobbying for fossil fuel conglomerates. President Lula and Brazil should be given support by all those who believe in the importance of reversing the perilous position into which the future of all forms of life on the planet have been plunged.' Along with climate issues, the President also expressed support for Brazil's indigenous population of nearly 1,700,000 as COP30 approaches. While 21% of the Amazon in Brazil has been secured as indigenous land and a Ministry of Native People was established in 2023 to protect indigenous interests, deforestation threatens these communities' safety and security. 'It is also important that the recognition and presence of indigenous people, whom Brazil and President Lula want to get appropriate recognition and centrality, should not be reduced to being a sideshow of COP30,' President Higgins wrote. 'The support of Ireland and those EU member states who share our perspective will be vital in achieving this.' Read the full statement here.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Ireland's oldest woman Sarah Coyle dies at the age of 108
The death has occurred of a 108-year-old Irish woman who lived through two pandemics, the Irish Civil War, and the War of Independence. Sarah Coyle, a native of Knockatomcoyle, Co Wicklow, had been living with her daughter Marian Galligan in Castleknock, Dublin. She passed away peacefully on Monday, surrounded by her family. Mrs Coyle, who was born in the year of the Easter Rising, is understood to have been the oldest person in the country. Sarah, whose maiden name was Byrne, was born on July 24, 1916, and grew up in Coolkenno before moving to Dublin as a teenager. In an interview with The Irish Times in April, her daughter Marian said her mother had a strong memory of the Black and Tans, the British forces who operated in Ireland during the War of Independence from 1919 to 1921. 'When she was very young, the Black and Tans came around and brought her grandfather James out. They were going to shoot him at the gable end [of the house] – for no reason, they were just going around doing purges,' Ms Galligan said. "He blessed himself and he said, 'Blessed be the will of God'. At this point, the leader of the group told his men, 'Put down your guns. They left him there; they didn't shoot him. It wasn't the will of God,' Ms Galligan said. Mrs Coyle came from a family of ten. Many of her siblings also lived long lives. Her sister Lily Kelly, who resides in Solihull, UK, turned 103 earlier this year, while her brother Andy Byrne lived to 100. As a young woman, Sarah worked as a housekeeper in Foxrock, Dublin, and met her husband Tom Coyle at a dance. He was a native of Cavan and died in the mid-1980s. He had worked as a postman until ill health set in during his late fifties. The couple lived in Drumcondra and had four children, two of whom died as newborns. The grandmother and great-grandmother lost her sight in her early thirties. Sarah rarely drank, other than an occasional sherry 'to be sociable.' She attributed her long life to her mother's tradition of adding the first nettles of spring to cabbage 'to purify the blood.' Mrs Coyle became the oldest person in Ireland following the death of Ruby Druce on March 20 in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. Ms Druce was 109 years and 79 days old at the time of her passing and had lived independently until the age of 98.
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Irish Sun
Heartache as Ireland's oldest person dies just days before turning 109 as family reveal common plant as key to long life
IRELAND'S oldest woman has passed away at the age of 108, her family have confirmed. Sarah Coyle from She was due to turn 109 in just 10 days, on July 24, but her family confirmed she passed away peacefully on July 14. Her grandson Thomas Galligan said Sarah thanked her family and gave them her "blessing" before she passed. Sarah is survived by her two children, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren and her sister Lily. Her sister Lily, who lives in the READ MORE IN NEWS She is predeceased by eight other siblings, her brother Andy passing away just before turning 101. She passed away peacefully in her daughter Marian Galligan's While she was born in Wicklow Sarah, whose maiden name was Byrne, later moved to Tullow with her family. She was working as a housekeeper in Dublin when she met her husband Tom Coyle at a dance. MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN The Is this the world's OLDEST woman- Great-great grandma lodges bid with Guinness Tom worked as a postman and the couple lived in Dublin raising their children after their 1950 wedding. However, Tom died in 1986 after suffering a stroke and brain hemorrhage and Sarah moved in with her daughter shortly afterwards. Sarah lost her sight in 1957 at the age of 40 after suffering trauma to the head. Missing her sight the woman developed a love of radio and particularly enjoyed listening to SECRET TO LONG LIFE Sarah was a keen gardener and a particular plant has even been credited in giving her such a long life. Her daughter Marian Galligan told The Irish Times her mother would collect the first nettles of every spring. She would then include them in her cabbage. Marian said: "She used to say, 'that will purify your blood'.' Despite her blindness Sarah loved her garden and laid guide wires to tend to it. Having been born just weeks after the 1916 Easter Rising, Sarah had vivid memories of some of history's most important periods. She recalled the Black and Tans rounding up everyone called James in her area, her father included, to identify a man who had shot one of theirs. Her father was taken up the mountains but returned home safe hours later. Sarah also remembers living through The War of Independence and the British control of Ireland. 1 Sarah passed away on Monday
