Dublin's Fallen Hero

DUBLIN'S FALLEN HERO

The Long Life and Sudden Death of Nelson's Pillar

(1809-1966)

For a century and a half Nelson's Pillar, a tall Doric column topped by a statue of Admiral Nelson, erected in 1809 to honour the victor of Trafalgar, dominated the centre of Dublin. It was the hub of the city's tram and bus routes, the rendezvous point for Dubliners, and the image that every visitor wanted to have on his postcard home. This account of the Pillar, why it was built, how it survived, and why it was finally, and illegally, destroyed in 1966 is the intriguing story of a monument which pre-dated Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square by more than three decades, and which was still standing when Ireland became a Republic and left the Commonwealth.