MOORE STREET IN Dublin has “huge potential” to become a “cultural and heritage hub” in the capital, according to report by the Moore Street Advisory Group (MSAG).

Culture Minister Josepha Madigan is understood to be pushing ahead with the report’s recommendations which will “restore Moore Street to its former glory”. 

Madigan asked the Cabinet this week to note the recommendations and has written to Dublin City Council asking it to establish an expert group to look at ways to create a “more vibrant street market in the area”. 

The group will be tasked with “breathing new life” into the area, after street traders have pleaded with authorities to sort out the “intolerable level” of anti-social behaviour and dilapidation of the street.

The advisory group was set up by the government in 2017 to achieve consensus between stakeholders, including the owners of the Dublin Central Site, Hammerson, as well as the council, the traders and the family of the 1916 relatives, on the future of the area.

The advisory group previously welcomed Hammerson’s revised development plans for the site which stretches from O’Connell to Moore Street.

However it issued a stark warning regarding the future of the famous Moore Street market, saying a lack of basic facilities and anti-social activities on the street has pushed the 200-year-old market to the brink of collapse.

“The Moore Street market is facing an existential crisis,” it said.

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It is understood that the minister is keen to get the area up and running as a national monument, with potential for a visitor centre, a children of 1916 exhibition, a reception centre for visitors, and a display of suitable 1916 artefacts from the National Museum.

The Moore Street area has been embroiled in controversy over the years due to plans to redevelop the area. Court cases have also taken place as to what buildings should be designated as national monuments.

The report also recommended that a reconfigured advisory group should be established, noting that a consensus between all stakeholders appears to have been reached in relation to being respectful and sensitive to the street’s history.