SEANAD REPORT:SEANAD LEADER Donie Cassidy said he would bring to the Government a proposal by Labhrás Ó Murchú (FF) that Dublin airport be renamed in honour of the l9l6 Rising leader Tom Clarke.

Mr Ó Murchú said Mr Clarke, the first signatory of the Proclamation, had been somewhat forgotten. Renaming the airport would be an ideal way of highlighting his contribution to our achievement of freedom. Airports in other republics were named after leading figures such as John F Kennedy and Charles de Gaulle.

Mr Ó Murchú said that at a time when preparations were being made for a comprehensive marking of the l9l6 centenary, it was important to ensure the preservation of number 16 Moore Street, where the leaders of the insurrection had made their last stand. He understood that a planning permission had been obtained for a development in this area, and he believed it was necessary for the Government to intervene.

Ivor Callely (FF) said the centenary could clash with one of the largest infrastructural projects in the capital. There would be a “big black hole” in O’Connell St for a number of years in connection with the construction of the metro.

Pearse Doherty (SF) said a developer with properties that were about to be taken over by the National Asset Management Agency had been given permission to do what the British army had been unable to bring about – the demolition of the area around the GPO and 16 Moore Street.

Mark Daly (FF) said he wanted to congratulate Senator Jerry Buttimer, who had been the only member of Fine Gael to support the Oireachtas attempt to prevent An Bord Pleanála granting permission for the development of what could only be described as “the most vulgar post-Celtic Tiger monument on O’Connell Street”.