From Nelson to the Needle: Dublin's Statues and MonumentsAt 1.32am on the morning of Tuesday 9 March 1966, Admiral Nelson was blown off his pillar in O'Connell Street. Dublin's monuments have always been at the centre of controversy. The unveiling of the O'Connell monument in 1868 provoked serious sectarian riots in Belfast. Whereas Sir John Gray is commemorated for bringing a water supply to the city, another, Father Theobald Mathew, is commemorated for keeping Ireland dry (of alcohol, that is!). James Joyce (Earl Street) remarked on the coincidence that the statue of Thomas Moore (College Street), author of 'The Meeting of the Waters', is located above a public toilet!... and now Nelson has finally been replaced - by a Millennium 'needle' - a 400 feet high abstract sculpture. More Info: |