1916 Rising exhibition and visitor centre for GPO

Plans for a 1916 Rising exhibition and visitor centre for the GPO have been lodged with Dublin City Council by An Post.

The facility, expected to cost about €5 million, will feature a cafe and “sculpture court” as well as a two-storey exhibition centre. An Post plans to build the centre in a courtyard, currently not accessible to the public, behind the main hall of the O’Connell Street building.

The plans propose the construction of a raised “courtyard deck” with an exhibition area and gallery space below, a new single-storey building and more exhibition space in an existing part of the post office, and an outdoor landscaped area. The proposed works are not within the historic portion of the GPO and would be “ entirely confined to the 20th-century complex”.

Glazed entrance
However, Independent city councillor Nial Ring said he was concerned about a reference to a new glazed entrance on Prince's Street.

“Councillors had been given assurances by An Post that the entrance to the exhibition area would be through the main hall, now it appears An Post wants to bypass the area where the Rising took place.”

A spokeswoman for An Post said the Prince’s Street entrance had been under consideration and would be for staff and corporate-visitor use. “It has always been a central pillar of our plan that the new exhibition area would be accessed only through the main entrance and main public post office at the front of the building. The main public post office hall is key to the whole visitor experience.”

Creating the new entrance as part of the courtyard project would have benefits in terms of economies of scale, she said.

Access
"It would also be useful to have better access to this side of the building during the construction phase, given the enclosed nature of the site, ie the courtyard, and the inevitable need to reroute staff entrances etc."

Mr Ring welcomed the the exhibition area development and said Minister for Heritage Jimmy Deenihan had committed €5 million to its development.

An Post said it was not in a position to provide details on costs as work was still under way on various aspects of the development, all of which will be subject to commercial tender.

A spokesman for the department said an allocation of €6 million for 2014 was made in the budget to allow commemoration projects to proceed, including the GPO proposal, and an assessment of the costs arising was being prepared.

“While some indicative figures have been suggested in relation to certain capital projects, it would be premature to comment in this regard until the officials’ report has been examined by Government.”