Description

THE O’RAHILLY
The impetus for this painting of the eccentric and courageous O’Rahilly was a cry for help to prevent the demolition of his beautiful, historical residence on Herbert Park Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin. I gave this image to his proud direct descendant and fellow 1916 activist, Proinsias O’Rahilly.

Michael Joseph O’Rahilly (Irish: Mícheál Seosamh Ó Rathaille or Ua Rathghaille; 22 April 1875 – 29 April 1916), known as The O’Rahilly, was an Irish republican and nationalist; he was a founding member of the Irish Volunteers in 1913 and served as Director of Arms. Despite opposing the action, he took part in the Easter Rising in Dublin and was killed in a charge on a British machine gun post covering the retreat from the GPO during the fighting.- Wiki

Lost History
The city council deliberately delayed making this important building a listed 1916 Rising heritage building so the house was effectively sentenced to demolition and that is exactly what happened.
In the middle of the night, a nefarious bunch of hired thugs arrived and bulldozed it for the Blueshirt fascist developers so it is lost forever.
Now the city council is demanding that they restore it…
Bit late bit deliberate to cover their fat arses when they refused to act to preserve this beautiful building in the first place.
Their campaign to erase the memories of 1916 is evident from their destruction of the magnificent bullet-ridden plane trees on O’Connell to their attempts to level Moore Street for a rich developer to this mess.

PS. I was amazed to discover from Proinsias O’Rahilly that the revolver belonging to Michael Collins was discovered hidden in that very house only twenty years ago.
Who knows what history we have lost with this deliberate and ruthless vandalism, all driven by pure greed. with bent councilors fingerprints all over this act.