Dispute over location of Mac Diarmada plaque

A PLAN to move a bronze plaque in Dublin commemorating 1916 Rising leader Seán Mac Diarmada should be reversed, a conservation group has said.

The plaque, which was erected on the wall outside 11/12 D’Olier Street, marks the place where Mac Diarmada had an office as manager of nationalist newspaper Irish Freedom in 1910.

The 33-year-old was secretary of the supreme council and military council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and was executed following the Easter Rising.

The plaque highlights his role as a signatory to the 1916 Proclamation and says he was “executed by the British on 12th May 1916”. At its end it states “erected by his friends”, who included Eamonn de hOir, Cathal O’Shannon, Phyllis O’Kelly, Prof Liam O’Briain and Denis McCullough. It was unveiled in a large public event 44 years ago on April 23rd, 1967, by then president Eamon de Valera.

The plaque was removed in 2008 during the redevelopment of protected structures at 8-16 D'Olier Street, formerly the offices of The Irish Timesnewspaper, by Veba Ltd.

The company has now applied for planning permission to relocate the plaque inside 11/12.

According to the application, the new location was necessary because of the “reworking” of the building’s facade. The new position of the plaque will be inside the window of the entrance lobby of no 11/12. It also said the company had been contacted about the relocation of the plaque by the family of Seán Mac Diarmada, though it did not outline their reaction.

Damien Cassidy, spokesman for the National Conservation and Heritage Group, said the proposed new location for the plaque was “completely unsatisfactory”.

He said it was very important coming up to the centenary of the 1916 Rising that all connections to the event along the route to the GPO in O’Connell Street should be preserved.

Gerard Doherty, project manager with P Elliot Co, who have carried out the redevelopment work on D’Olier Street, said the new glass entrance to the building meant it was not possible to place the plaque on a wall. He said people would still be able to read it from the street. “The only difference is they won’t be able to touch it,” he said.

The new location had been discussed in advance by Dublin City Council, he added.