View from Nelson's Pillar, 1951
Nelson's Pillar was a monument which dominated the skyline of Dublin city centre for 158 years. Built by the then British authorities in 1808 to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, it stood in the spot now dominated by the city of Dublin's newest landmark - the Spire.
However, 50 years after the Irish Easter Rising against British rule in 1916 - which eventually led to the formation of the independent, twenty-six county state of the Republic of Ireland - somebody decided that the Pillar was no longer needed! In the early hours of the 8th of March 1966 a bomb exploded inside the structure, demolishing about a third of the Portland stonework used in its construction. Shortly afterwards it was decided that the Army should destroy what remained of the stump.
Although there has since been much speculation as to who was behind the deed, nobody has been positively identified as being responsible. All that remains of the Pillar is the head of Nelson, which currently resides at Dublin's City Library Headquarters on Pearse Street.
Although anybody can log on to the internet and view a picture OF the Pillar, this one is unique in that it's a view FROM the structure. It was taken in 1951, looking southward down O'Connell Street with its many Leyland Titan buses and some tramlines still visible even though they had been decommissioned two years earlier. Trams were not to be seen again in Dublin city centre until 2004 with the arrival of the Luas light rail system. It's a spectacular scene with the Wicklow Mountains clearly visible in the distance.
Click here for a larger picture (allow a few moments for it to load fully).
Below is another picture also taken from the Pillar, focusing on the GPO (General Post Office), the central point of the Irish Uprising for Independence in 1916 as the location from which Irish patriot Pádraig Pearse publicly read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
A special word of thanks to the photographer, Mr. Brian Day, who took these pictures in the Spring of 1951. At the time, Brian lived in Cunningham Road, Dalkey and would have travelled extensively on the Number 8 bus. Mr. and Mrs. Day, who are members of the Dún Laoghaire Historical Society, currently reside in Aylesbury, England and celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2005.
Pictures supplied with thanks to Dave O'Connor
Page created April 2006, updated August 2006 and April 2007