Millennium Spire, Dublin

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Located on O'Connell Street, The Spire of Dublin (Spuaic Bhaile Átha Cliath), or it's official title, The Monument of Light (An Túr Solais) . It is also commonly known as The Spike - It is a tradition in Dublin to re-name statues/ Structures with an alternative name/ nick name- some are quite derogatory

Other names for this 382 foot stainless steel landmark are - The Binge Syringe, The Stiletto in the Ghetto, The Nail in the Pale, The Pin in the Bin.

My favourites are The Stiffy at the Liffey (even though it's a good few hundred metres from the River Liffey), The Erection in the Intersection (It is located where O'Connell Street is crossed by Henry Street and Talbot Street) and The Rod to God!

WikiInfo about construction etc

The Spire is a popular meeting point.
I enjoyed seeing it change in different lights, particularly at night.

Another statue was removed to make way for the Spire, this was Anna Livia - which was of a woman sitting in a slope, with bubbling water running down (to represent the River) - not surprisingly, this was nick-named, The Floozie in the jacuzzi! (also, The Hoor (whore) in the Sewer)

You might wonder, why did I title this tip "The Monument of Light" ... well, probably because this is the official title of what the dubs know best as "The Spire" (actually they never use its original name). This.... tall and akward monument was built to celebrate entering in the new milienium and will have as many people loving it as hating it. Why?

Firstly, because of how it looks. It is large (121.2 metres - 398 ft in height), made of stainless steel pin like monster. It is made to reflect the light falling on it, so metal changes color depending on the time of day. In the daylight it looks steel but at dusk it appears to fade into the skyline. Also it is illuminated at night which makes it clearly visible from around the city centre.
It is a compass for the tourists, really - A shining beacon to reassure you that if you only followed it, you'd end up in a shady part of town with pickpockets waiting eagerly (nah, .... in the most popular part of town, really)...

Secondly, the location. The Spire is located in City Centre Dublin, on O'Connell Street. The most popular and well known street of Dublin. It stands in the middle of it and clearly marks the major points of Dublin. There is the Liffey in front of it, the Croke the Rotunda hospital in the back, tourist office on the left and popular shopping street on the right. Almost all buses leave from the Spire and it is the best place to board one when going someplace in Dublin. Due to its location it is also a great meeting place, young or older meet “under the Spire” as it is probably the most recognizable and attainable landmark in Dublin.

The Dubs say it is ugly, that it spoils their city centre but they love it secretly, trust me.

The Spire has many names, some of them are: The Spike, The Stiletto in the Ghetto (because it is on the North Side of Dublin) and The Erection at the Intersection. The poker next to Croker (the Croker stadium is very near) and of course the stiffy in the Liffey... I'm sure they came up with many more but those are the ones you hear all the time.

I will not ecourage you to go and see the Spire once you are in Dublin because you will anyway. Have fun.

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At 120m tall, it is the tallest structure in the City centre.

Originally known locally as the Spike, it was commissioned as part of the Millenium project for Dublin.

It's bang in the middle of the road (pedestrian island), and it's smooth slender form and colour looks quite elegant rather than obstrusive.

This tall needle-like structure has already received a number of nicknames including The Spike, The Binge Syringe, The Stiletto in the Ghetto, The Nail in the Pale, The Pin in the Bin, The Stiffy at the Liffey, The Erection in the Intersection and The Rod to God.

The locals are certainly not short of imagination and rhyming 'terms of affection'!!

The Dublin Spire was constructed between December 2002 and January 2003 to replace Nelson's Pillar which was blown up in 1996. It is located at O'Connell Street, Dublin 1.

Standing at 120 metres tall, this pin-shaped hollow cone monument is the tallest structure in the city. The structure is made of stainless steel. Surface at the lower level are highly polished thus acting as a mirror reflecting the street, people and traffic. The surface at this section is also finished with decorative patterns.

The Spire has been called with many different names such as "The Millennium Spire", "The Spike", or even "The Rod To God". But officially it is known as the Monument of Lights or An Túr Solais in Irish. In the evenings, the mirror finished stainless steel surface at the lower section is lit by the light sources from the surrounding street. The topmost section, on the other hand, is illuminated by the aviation warning light acting as a beacon in the night sky over Dublin.

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After a long period of neglect, the busy area of O'Connell Street was regenerated in the 1990s. Part of this was a replacement for Nelson's Column that was destroyed ib a bomb attack by the IRA in 1966.

The column was chosen by comittee after an international competition. Its a large stainless steel like monument officially entitled, 'the Monument of Light,' and is 120m (390ft) high.

In the middel of O'Connell street, you will find the Monument of Light, also known as the Millenium Spire. It stands 120m tall .

It was originally planned to be constructed in time for New Years Eve 1999, but was delayed and wasn't finished till January 2003.

if you stand at the base and look up, you will get dizzy very quickly!
very impressive, at night too as the tip is a beam of light
weird etchings at the base, make it seem mysterious...they are random etchings, it seems

if 1,000 years time though...people will probably ask...why

still, i liked it

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You can see many statues and monuments along O'Connell Street. One of the newest is the stainless steel Millennium Spire which was completed in 2003. It was built on the same spot where the monument of Admiral Nelson once stood. The Admiral Nelson column was blown up in 1966 during a local celebration of the IRA's Easter Rising's 50th anniversary.

The Spire is a 393 foot tall stainless steel needle. One of our taxi drivers informed us there was much controversary in the building of the spire--many people were against building it. He told us the needle was erected to mark the dawn of the new millennium. The spire monument is referred to by various names such as:
THE SPIRE TO INSPIRE
THE MONUMENT OF LIGHT
THE O'CONNELL SPIRE

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The Spire is a needle like sculpture standing in the middle of O’Connell Street. It is made up of eight hollow tubes of stainless steel and it is 120 metres high (that makes it the worlds tallest sculpture). At the base it is 3m wide and the top only 15cm.

At the site of the Spire there used to be a Nelson’s Pillar, but it was blown up by IRA in 1966. Later Ian Ritchie Architects won a competition for replacing it and between December 2002 and January 2003 the spire was erected.

Is about 120 meters high.

The Irish tradition tells that monuments and (standbeelden) get a nickname. In this case there are plenty: the stiffey of the liffey, the pole in the hole, the erection on the intersection, the stiletto in the ghetto
;-)