So here we go, 10 Dublin Monuments, statues, artworks, whatever you want to call them, that you won’t want to miss on your visit.
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First up, is a statue of our great Nobel prize winning author James Joyce, who’s famous novel Ulysses takes you on its own odyssey around the great city. It’s located at the junction of Earl Street and O’Connell street. The locals rather rudely call this the prick with the stick, but it’s probably not that disparaging a nickname, often insults are dished out in Ireland between friends as a form of affection.
Just meters away on O’Connell Street, is 120-meter-high Spire, Dublin’s tallest sculpture, which occupies the site that nelson’s pillar previously stood on, before it was bombed by the IRA in 1966.
And for all you classic rock fans out there we have a bronze likeness of the great Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy. One of Ireland’s most famous musical sons. This is situated just opposite McDaid’s Pub, in Harry Street, just off Grafton Street on the south side.
We turn to Politics and visit a monument to James Connelly, the Irish Republican, Socialist and Trade Union Leader. Connelly was executed by the British after his part in the Easter Rising as Dublin Brigade Commandant. “The cause of Labour is the cause of Ireland/The cause of Ireland is the cause of Labour”, reads the quotation.
Perhaps the most spectacular of all Dublin monuments, is this one in The Phoenix Park. This is the Wellington Monument. The British General the Duke of Wellington was born in Ireland. And this 62 meter tall obelisk was put in place way back in 1822.
'Anna Livia' by sculptor Éamonn Doherty (the same artist who designed the Connelly statue) represents a personification of the river liffy, and references the character from James Joyces Finnegan’s Wake, Anna Livia Plurabelle. Dubliners dubbed this sculpture ‘The floozie in the Jacuzzi’. As you’ve discovered Dubliners like to offer irreverent nicknames to their sculptures.
In Merrion Square and we see a sculpture by Irish-American artist Andrew O’Connell entitled The Victims. This war monument was installed here as the artist lived for the last 7 months of his life in Merrion Square.
The ultimate monument to honour Ireland’s war dead is the one up at Parnell Square on the North side of the city centre. This monument commemorates Irish war dead dating as far back as the United Irishmen in 1798. It’s in the form of a cruciform water feature and I think you can just see the mosaic warriors shields on the bottom.It was opened by President Eamon DeValera in 1966 on the 50th anniversary of the 1916 uprising. But, the statue by Oisin Kelly added in 1971 and entitled ‘The Children of Lir’ which sits raised at the end of the garden is truly spectacular and very beautiful. The Children of Lir is a tale in Irish mythology and the statue symbolises Re-birth and resurrection.
Meanwhile, we’re passing a very striking sculpture commemorating the great famine of the 1840’s which devastated Ireland. But, we’re on our way to the other side of these standing stones located on the edge of St Stephen’s Green in order to take a look at the Wolf Tone Monument on the other side. The statue on the other side is of Theobald Wolf Tone, and by the same artist, Edward Delaney. It depicts the leader of the 1798 rising of the United Irishmen. The founding father of Irish Republicanism, who took his lead from the French revolution. In 1971, During the Troubles, that was largely unfolding in the North of the country, this statue was blown into several pieces by a group of Loyalists. It was obviously successfully repaired.
Then we have a statue at the Irish Life Bank in lower Abbey Street. This dynamic work, Chariot of Life, was commissioned to represent reason controlling emotion. The Artist is again Oisin Kelly, the same Sculptor who created the Children of Lir.
And our bonus sculpture is the very famous and extremely popular Molly Malone, wheeling her wheel barrow and crying cockles and mussels alive, alive oh as in the song. This statue was originally unveiled in Grafton Street but had to make way for the new Luas Tram track and so she’s ended up here in Suffolk Street, not so far away. It is perhaps fitting that night has fallen here as we visit Molly as legend has it that she may have plied a very different trade at night in `Dublin as a streetwalker. Hence, the endearing nickname ‘The Tart with the Cart.’ In any case, whatever her profession may have been people have taken Molly to their hearts.
That’s it for this monuments film, there are many others that I could have included, but just didn’t have space. If I’ve missed out your favourite, let me know in the comments. Who knows perhaps I’ll do a ‘Monuments Part 2’.
10 июл 2024
