Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
O'CONNELL STREET
The grand dame of Dublin thoroughfares is the imperially wide O'Connell St, a street that has played a central role
in key episodes of Dublin's - and the nation's - history. None more so than the 1916 Easter Rising, when the pro-
clamation announcing Ireland's independence was read out to a slightly bemused crowd from the steps of the Gen-
eral Post Office ( Click here ).
History
The street owes its existence to the efforts of Luke Gardiner, Dublin's premier Georgian developer, who laid out
plans for a grand boulevard to reflect the exalted status of the neighbourhood. The whole project was completed in
1794 - just seven short years before the Act of Union closed the doors on an independent Irish parliament and led
many of the city's aristocrats to leave Dublin for good. For much of the next two centuries Sackville St (as it was
called until 1924) fell into decline. Its handsome residences were partly converted into slum dwellings for the city's
burgeoning poor.
The destruction of 1916 didn't do the street any favours, but the real damage to O'Connell St occurred in the
decades after WWII, when the street fell into the care of fast-food outlets, ugly shops and amusement arcades. A
huge program of redevelopment has seen the street restored to something approaching its former grandeur, includ-
ing the construction of new, pedestrian-friendly pavements, a central mall and refurbished shopfronts.
Statuary
O'Connell St is lined with statues of Irish history's good and great. The big daddy of them all is the 'Liberator'
himself, Daniel O'Connell MAP GOOGLE MAP (1775-1847), completed in 1880, whose massive bronze bulk
soars above the street at the bridge end. The four winged figures at his feet represent O'Connell's supposed virtues:
patriotism, courage, fidelity and eloquence. Dubs began to refer to the street as O'Connell St soon after the monu-
ment was erected; its name was officially changed after independence.
Heading away from the river, past a monument to William Smith O'Brien (1803-64), leader of the Young Ire-
landers, is a statue that easily rivals O'Connell's for drama: just outside the GPO is the spread-armed figure of
trade-union leader Jim Larkin MAP GOOGLE MAP (1876-1947). His big moment came when he helped organ-
ise the general strike in 1913 - the pose catches him in full flow, urging workers to rise up for their rights. We're
with you, comrade.
Next up and difficult to miss is the Spire ( Click here ), but just below it, on pedestrianised North Earl St, is the
detached figure of James Joyce MAP GOOGLE MAP (1882 -1941 ), looking on the fast and shiny version of
21st-century O'Connell St with a bemused air. Dubs have lovingly dubbed him the 'prick with the stick' and we're
sure Joyce would have loved the vulgar rhyme.
Further on is Father Theobald Mathew MAP GOOGLE MAP (1790-1856), the 'apostle of temperance'.
There can't have been a tougher gig in Ireland, but he led a spirited campaign against 'the demon drink' in the
1840s and converted hundreds of thousands to teetotalism.
The top of the street is completed by the imposing statue of Charles Stewart Parnell MAP GOOGLE MAP
(1846-91), the 'uncrowned king of Ireland', who was an advocate of Home Rule and became a political victim of
Irish intolerance.
North of the Liffey
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