Looking south along O'Connell Street at night: the Spire's tip is illuminated.

The Spire of Dublin, or its official title the Monument of Light^[1] (Irish: An Túr Solais^[2]), is a large, pin-like monument 120 metres (393 ft) in height. It is located on the site of the former Nelson Pillar on O'Connell Street in the Irish capital, Dublin. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x681, 148 KB) Summary Night time photo of OConnell Street, Dublin, Ireland showing the Spire and GPO Author is Peter Guthrie who has given this image Creative Commons 2. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x681, 148 KB) Summary Night time photo of OConnell Street, Dublin, Ireland showing the Spire and GPO Author is Peter Guthrie who has given this image Creative Commons 2. ... The Taj Mahal, commissioned by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his wife, Arjumand Banu Begum. ... Nelsons Pillar on OConnell Street Nelsons Pillars viewing platform afforded views over Dublin, as this 1964 photograph of OConnell Street attests. ... Daniel OConnell, 19th century nationalist leader, whose statue by John Henry Foley, stands on the street named after him. ... The Spire at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: 01, +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ...

Details

Designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, it is an elongated cone of diameter 3m (10 ft) at the base, narrowing to 15cm (6 in) at the top. The world's tallest sculpture^{[verification needed]}, it was originally intended that the Spire be completed by 2000 in honour of the new millennium, but construction was delayed because of difficulty in obtaining planning permission and environmental regulations. It is constructed from eight hollow tubes of stainless steel and features a tuned mass damper to counteract sway. The Spire of Dublin from Henry Street, Dublin. ... A sculpture is a three-dimensional object, which for the purposes of this article is man-made and selected for special recognition as art. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 630 foot high, stainless-clad (type 304L) Gateway Arch defines St. ... A tuned mass damper is a device mounted in structures to prevent discomfort, damage or outright structural failure by vibration. ...

Reason for the construction of the Spire

The monument itself was commissioned as part of a redesigned street layout in 1999. O'Connell Street (formerly Sackville Street) was perceived to have gone into decline from the 1970s. Some people blamed the appearance of fast food restaurants and the opening of bargain basement shops, all using cheap plastic, visually unattractive and obtrusive shop fronts, the existence of a number of derelict sites, and the decision in 1966 by former members of the IRA to blow up the Nelson Pillar, as reasons for the decline in a once famous and attractive street. cropping image 1916 no copyright This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Daniel OConnell, 19th century nationalist leader, whose statue by John Henry Foley, stands on the street named after him. ... Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the Irish Republican Army in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. ... Nelsons Pillar on OConnell Street Nelsons Pillar was a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Lord Nelson, located in the centre of OConnell Street in Dublin. ...

In the 1990s, plans were launched to improve the streetscape. The excessive number of trees in the central reservation, which had overgrown and obscured the street's views and monuments, was reduced dramatically. Statues were cleaned and in some cases relocated. Shop-owners were required to replace plastic signage and frontage with more visually attractive designs. Private car traffic was re-directed where possible away from the street, with its number of traffic lanes reduced, to allow more 'public ownership' of the street for pedestrians. The centrepiece of this regeneration was to be a replacement monument for Nelson Pillar, the Spire of Dublin, chosen by a committee under the then chairmanship of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Joe Doyle from a large number of submissions. The Mansion House The Lord Mayor of Dublin is the symbolic head of the city government in the capital of Ireland. ... An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions. ... Joe Doyle is a member of Dublin City Council and a former Lord Mayor of Dublin. ...

The choice of the monument proved controversial. Its cost at €4,000,000 (or well over IR£3,000,000 in contemporary currency before the appearance of the euro), was criticized, as was its design. Various nicknames were attached to it even prior to its erection (most famously, the "Stiletto in the Ghetto," "the binge syringe," "the Rod to God", the "Erection at the Intersection," and the "Stiffy by the Liffey"). One critic sought judicial review of the choice. However on its erection in January 2003, much of the criticism subsided. Two remained: its cost and the fact that it could not be used as a viewing platform, unlike its predecessor, Nelson Pillar, which provided spectacular views of Dublin city centre. ISO 4217 Code IEP User(s) Ireland ERM Since 13 March 1979 Fixed rate since 31 December 1998 Replaced by €, non cash 1 January 1999 Replaced by €, cash 1 January 2002 € = £0. ... “EUR” redirects here. ... The Liffey in West Wicklow The Liffey (An Life in Irish) is a river in the Republic of Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. ...

Further changes in the street, including the creation of a new plaza in front of the General Post Office (GPO), new tree plantings, and the erection of buildings on the street's two derelict sites, were planned for 2005. The middle of the street in the past year has been extensively renovated, with new trees and ground. The object is to make the street more pedestrian-friendly and less congested. In 2004, the Luas Red Line opened connecting Tallaght to Connolly Station and crosses Lower O'Connell Street. General Post Office in 2006. ... Luas (Irish for speed), also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, currently encompasses two unconnected on-street light rail lines in Dublin, Ireland. ... Connolly is a common Irish and Scottish surname, and is the name of many people: Alan Connolly (b. ...

Public opinion

Although the spire met with initial opposition, many Dubliners seemed to come around to the idea of 'The Spire Of Dublin' during the monument's completion. The completion of the spire on 21 January 2003 was cheered on by a small crowd of Dubliners who braved the cold to watch its erection and the RTÉ radio presenter Lillian Smith celebrated by broadcasting Neil Young's song, The Needle and the Damage Done. Some people around the world also watched the completion of the spire on the Internet. January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Opinions remain divided as to the nature of the monument itself. Most seem to have come around to accepting the monument, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. While some have praised it as potentially Ireland's Eiffel Tower, others continue to dismiss it as a huge dirty needle out of scale and character with the city, or slated it as being like a giant flag pole in the centre of O'Connell St. Whether they like it or not, all sides agree that it is likely to dominate Dublin's skies for decades if not centuries to come, in the same manner as the Nelson Pillar. History will see whether it will remain as controversial. The Eiffel Tower (French: , ) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris, France. ... Nelsons Pillar on OConnell Street Nelsons Pillars viewing platform afforded views over Dublin, as this 1964 photograph of OConnell Street attests. ...

The logo of Engineers Ireland (The Institution of Engineers of Ireland), introduced in 2005, may be inspired by the monument. Press releases say that the logo is a modified phi letter, but the central feature does bear a resemblance to the monument. 2005: new logo, with modified phi symbol. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Other nicknames

Other nicknames have been proposed, of which only "The Spike" is current:^[3]

• The Spike
• The Spire in the Mire (a reflection on O'Connell Street's unsavoury reputation)
• The Binge Syringe ( a reference to contemporary public project overruns, and the use of public money to construct projects that have no direct utility to the public), (also a reference to the levels of drug abuse in contemporary Irish society, and in the local streets)
• The Stiletto in the Ghetto (O'Connell St, on the predominately working class northside area of the city, is a very short distance from some of Dublin's poorest and most drug-ruined communities).
• The Nail in the Pale
• The Stiffy by the Liffey
• The Pin in the Bin (a reference to the perceived amount of litter in O'Connell Street)
• The Stick
• The North Pole (It is located on Dublin's Northside)
• The Poker near Croker (A reference to nearby Croke Park)
• The Erection at the Intersection

The Pale or the English Pale comprised a region in a radius of twenty miles around Dublin which the English in Ireland gradually fortified against incursion from Gaels. ... The Liffey in West Wicklow The Liffey (An Life in Irish) is a river in the Republic of Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. ... NorthSide is record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that specialized in Nordic roots music. ... Croke Park (Irish: Páirc an Chrócaigh) in Dublin, Ireland is the largest sports stadium in Ireland and the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Irelands biggest sporting organisation. ...

Similar monuments

Iglica in Wrocław is a similar design with a current height of 96 meters, but is older. Iglica (center) in background - Hala Ludowa Iglica (Polish; means the spire) is a needle-like monument in WrocÅ‚aw, Poland. ... Motto: Miasto spotkaÅ„ (the meeting place) Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship Lower Silesian Powiat city county Gmina WrocÅ‚aw Established 10th century City Rights 1262 Government  - Mayor RafaÅ‚ Dutkiewicz Area  - City 292. ...

Gallery

The view from Henry Street at dusk image of the new Spire of Dublin from Henry St. ...

View from O'Connell St. Image File history File links SpireOConnell. ...

During construction Image File history File links Spire2003. ...

View from an inner city apartment building image of the new Spire of Dublin showing height. ...

View showing the base artwork Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 376 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description : The Spire of Dublin Author : Sebb Date : 09/2006 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev...

The tip leans slightly to the east Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 382 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1776 × 2784 pixel, file size: 1. ...

See also

• Dublin statues and their nicknames
• List of towers

Daniel OConnell - 19th century nationalist leader Visitors to Dublin in Ireland often comment on the strange comic nicknames given by the populace to some of the citys statues and other monuments. ... The following fall under the definition of a tower which is a tall man-made structure, always taller than it is wide, and usually much higher. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

The Spire of Dublin

• http://www.ianritchiearchitects.co.uk/
• http://www.TheSpire.ie
• Construction Photographs
• Google Maps satellite view of Spire of Dublin
• http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b26123

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

References

1. ^ Irish Independent, Spire cleaners get prime view of city, Tuesday June 05 2007
2. ^ Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath (Irish). Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
3. ^ "Our man in Dublin", The Independent, 25 June 2005. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. “Dubliners, however, have invented a score of insulting names for the monument to their success. The printable ones, some referring to O'Connell Street's dismal reputation, include 'the spire in the mire'; 'the stiletto in the ghetto'; 'the eyeful tower'; 'the nail in the Pale'; 'the pin in the bin'; 'the erection by the intersection'; and " most recently " 'the stiffy by the Liffey'.” 

Coordinates: 53°20′59″N, 6°15′37″W Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ... is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 5 is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...