Danny Healy-Rae urges GPO preserved as a non-commercial memorial
Danny Healy-Rae spoke about the future of the GPO, arguing it should be maintained, modernized and developed as a heritage site while retaining a post office section. He opposed commercialisation and suggested state-supported heritage funding and a modern visitor centre to honour those who fought in 1916.
He set out his ideal that the GPO should be maintained as far as possible, with much of the original structure retained. He emphasised keeping a section as a post office to reflect what it was on the day of 1916.
He proposed modernising and developing the site into a visitor centre to attract both local and international visitors. He argued such a centre would help those who learned about 1916 in school to better understand the leaders and events they studied.
He made clear he did not think the GPO should be commercialised or sold for unrelated commercial uses. He said it would be acceptable for the state to fund heritage elements and to find ways to finance maintenance without compromising the memorial character.
He expressed sadness at disputes over the GPO's future and urged cooperation. He called for working together to ensure the site is kept "nice" and that those who fought in 1916 are properly remembered.
Call to preserve the GPO
He set out his ideal that the GPO should be maintained as far as possible, with much of the original structure retained. He emphasised keeping a section as a post office to reflect what it was on the day of 1916.
Proposal for a visitor centre
He proposed modernising and developing the site into a visitor centre to attract both local and international visitors. He argued such a centre would help those who learned about 1916 in school to better understand the leaders and events they studied.
Opposition to commercialisation
He made clear he did not think the GPO should be commercialised or sold for unrelated commercial uses. He said it would be acceptable for the state to fund heritage elements and to find ways to finance maintenance without compromising the memorial character.
Appeal for unity over the site's future
He expressed sadness at disputes over the GPO's future and urged cooperation. He called for working together to ensure the site is kept "nice" and that those who fought in 1916 are properly remembered.
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Transcript
get the opportunity to talk on this motion in this evening and I suppose to start we all have to honor and respect and remember those leaders men and women who fought for our country in 1916 and all around that time and even as far as the the war of the civil war and all those who died along the way and so that we could be here and have your own parliament and a democratic parliament and I know that everyone is entitled to talk and say what they believe in here inside and my ideals for the GPO would be to maintain it as far as possible modernize it and develop it and sure we need to keep some section of a post office there as part of what it was at that day at that time and to kind of maintain much of what is there and I know it has to be modernized and if we could develop it into a modern type visitor center where we'd attract all our own people from all over the world be from Ireland or wherever they've gone to and and that would be an attraction for for all those who learned going to school what those leaders went through and I don't think it should be commercialized or that any entity but if the state was to have some kind of um heritage things there and whatever whatever whatever way that they could help to fund uh to maintain it that would that to me would be fine would not as selling some other kind of uh commercial stuff that I don't think that would be in line of what uh to remember it as it was and that's what and it's sad to see people fighting here inside uh over what uh what should be doing with it we should try to work together to ensure that it is nice and that the people that fought there in 1916 are remembered properly