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Dublin City Council is investigating the circumstances surrounding the demolition of the house belonging to a leader from 1916.
O’Rahilly House at 40 Herbert Park in Ballsbridge was demolished early Tuesday morning to make way for luxury apartments.
Michael Joseph “The” O’Rahilly lived in the house before being killed during the Easter Rising.
It comes after city councilors voted to list the building as a protected structure last month.
In a statement, Dublin City Council said they are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the demolition of 40 Herbert Park.
“Once the city council has found out the facts, it will take the appropriate measures.”
An Bord Pleanála gave the developers permission to build a 66m apartment block, which will contain 105 apartments on the site.
The authority granted the decision despite opposition from historians, An Taisce and the Department of Culture and Arts.
Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews added: “It’s really disappointing. It’s a green light for developers to come in and hit our heritage and historic sites.
“Particularly in light of the fact that the city council had started the process to classify it as a preserved building, so there are question marks about its legality and that is something we will be investigating.”
There have been mixed reactions from the locals to what happened. A local who did not want to be identified said: “Who can say now that the GPO will not become a Tesco or Newgrange will be demolished and turned into a theme park?”
“All of this is now possible thanks to the signal we are receiving from An Bord Pleanala.”
While a local woman living in the area added that if the O’Rahilly family wanted it, “they would have bought it. It’s gone, it’s actually a pain in the eye. “
The group Kerry’s Fight for Freedom also criticized the demolition. In a social media post they said, “Bye my dear and bye 40 Herbert Park. This is how we treat The O’Rahilly house; a man who willingly gave his life for Irish freedom; a man who wound the clock and listened to it ring.
“Shame, shame, shame of those who allowed this to happen.”
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