Dublin's main boulevard has been bombed, shelled, burned, and rebuilt so many times it's practically a phoenix in street form. Originally a narrow lane called Drogheda Street, it was widened in the 1740s by the Wide Streets Commission and renamed Sackville Street. During the 1916 Easter Rising, British artillery reduced most of the street to rubble. During the Civil War in 1922, it was shelled again. And in 1966, the IRA blew up Nelson's Pillar — a 40-metre column that had stood here since 1809, longer than Nelson's Column in London.
The gap left by Nelson sat empty for nearly four decades until The Spire arrived in 2003. At 121 metres tall, this tapering stainless steel needle is the tallest piece of freestanding public art in the world. Dubliners, who nickname everything, immediately christened it the "Stiletto in the Ghetto," the "Nail in the Pale," and the "Stiffy by the Liffey." The upper ten metres are lit from within by 11,884 holes that glow after dark.
The street is 150 feet wide and lined with monuments to Irish independence: Daniel O'Connell's statue at the southern end, the trade unionist Jim Larkin frozen mid-speech in the middle, and Charles Stewart Parnell at the north. The General Post Office — headquarters of the 1916 Rising — anchors the west side. You can still see bullet holes in its columns.
Stand here and you're standing on the fault line of modern Irish history. Every major uprising, protest, and celebration has marched down this street. It's been destroyed and rebuilt so often that the street itself has become a metaphor for the country.
Verified Facts
The Spire of Dublin is 121 metres tall and is the world's tallest piece of freestanding public art
Nelson's Pillar stood here from 1809 until it was blown up by the IRA in 1966
The street is approximately 150 feet (46 metres) wide, originally widened by the Wide Streets Commission in the 18th century
The Spire's upper 10 metres are illuminated through 11,884 holes with LED lights
Get walking directions
O'Connell Street, Dublin 1
