O'Connell Street
Encyclopedia
O'Connell Street is Dublin's main thoroughfare. It measures 49 m (160 ft) in width at its southern end, 46 m (150 ft) at the north, and is 500 m (1650 ft) in length. Known as 'Sackville Street' until 1924, it was renamed in honour of Daniel O'Connell
, a nationalist
leader of the early nineteenth century whose statue stands at the lower end of the street, facing O'Connell Bridge
.
. Situated just north of the River Liffey
, the street has a fine axial positioning, running close to a north-south orientation. Lined with many handsome buildings, O'Connell Street is the most monumental of Dublin's commercial streets, having been largely rebuilt in the early 20th century following extensive destruction in the struggle for Irish independence and subsequent civil war. It has the air of an imposing 1920s boulevard, with signature stone-faced neoclassical buildings such as Clerys department store complemented by the more subtle grain of elegant bank and retail premises. O'Connell Street Upper by contrast retains something of its original 18th century character, with the western side conforming to original plot widths and some original fabric still intact.
The street's layout is simple but elegant. Not dissimilar to Paris
's Champs-Élysées
, though more intimate in scale, it has a wide pavement each side of the street serving the retail outlets that line its length, and a parallel pair of two-lane (formerly three-lane) roadways. A paved median space runs down the centre of the street, featuring monuments and statues to various Irish political leaders. The famous large London Plane
trees that lined the median for the second half of the 20th century were removed in 2003 amidst some controversy, with the oldest of these at the northern end planted c. 1903 being cut down in 2005 - all as part of an extensive regeneration scheme recently completed by Dublin City Council
.
The centre of the street is dominated by the imposing presence of the 1818 General Post Office
(GPO) with its hexastyle Ionic portico
projecting over the west pavement, and the 120 m (393 ft) Spire of Dublin
, a needle-like self supporting sculpture of rolled stainless steel erected in 2003. Both structures are addressed by a large civic plaza space, traversed by the street's two roadways.
O'Connell Street has often been centre-stage in Irish history, attracting the city's most prominent monuments and public art through the centuries, and formed the backdrop to one of the 1913 Dublin Lockout
gatherings, the 1916 Easter Rising
, the Irish Civil War
of 1922, the destruction of the Nelson Pillar in 1966, and many public celebrations, protests and demonstrations through the years - a role it continues to play to this day. State funeral corteges have often passed the GPO on their way to Glasnevin Cemetery
, while today the street is used as the main route of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, and as the setting for the 1916 Commemoration every Easter Sunday. It also serves as a major bus route artery through the city centre.
O'Connell Street has its origins in a street named Drogheda Street dating from the 17th century. Laid out by Henry Moore, Earl of Drogheda
, it was a third of the width of the present-day O'Connell Street, located on the site of the modern eastern carriageway and extending from Parnell Street
to the junction with Abbey Street
. In the 1740s, a wealthy banker and property speculator by the name of Luke Gardiner
acquired the upper part of Drogheda Street extending down to Henry Street as part of a much larger land deal. He demolished the western side of Drogheda Street creating an exclusive elongated residential square 46m (150 feet) in width, thus establishing the scale of the modern-day thoroughfare. The new, more ordered western side featured modest two-bay houses to the south intended for merchants, and larger three-bay houses further north, while the eastern side had many mansions, the grandest of which was Drogheda House rented by the sixth Earl of Drogheda
. Gardiner also laid out a mall down the central section of the street, lined with low granite walls and obelisk
s topped with oil-fuelled lamp globes. It was planted with trees a few years later. He titled the new development 'Sackville Street' after the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lionel Cranfield Sackville
, Duke of Dorset. It was also known as 'Sackville Mall', 'Gardiner's Mall' or simply 'The Mall'. However due to the limited lands owned by the Gardiners in this area, the Rotunda Hospital
sited just off the street at the bottom of Parnell Square - also developed by the family - was not built on axis with Sackville Street, terminating the vista.
It had been Gardiner's intention to eventually break this grand new street through to the river, however he died in 1755, with his son
taking over the estate.
It was not until 1777 that the planning body in the city, the Wide Streets Commission
, obtained a financial grant from Parliament and work could begin to realise this plan. For the next 10 years work progressed in demolishing a myriad of dwellings and other buildings, laying out the new roadway and building new terraces. Upon completion c. 1785-90, one of the finest streets in Europe had been created. The Wide Streets Commission had envisaged and realised marching terraces of unified and proportioned facades extending from the river as far north as Princes Street, their simple red brick elevations off-set with a major classical cut stone building near the centre (later to be the GPO built in 1814-18). The street became a commercial success upon the opening of Carlisle Bridge, designed by James Gandon
, in 1793 for pedestrians and 1795 for all traffic.
As the 19th century progressed, a great many changes took place on Sackville Street, resulting in the gradual erosion of the unified classical street created by the Wide Streets Commission and its replacement with an ostentatious high-Victorian boulevard, made up of elaborate individually designed buildings. One of the world's first purpose-built department stores was such a building: Delany's New Mart 'Monster Store' built in time for the Dublin Exhibition of 1853 and later to be purchased by the Clery family in the 1880s. It also housed the Imperial Hotel. Across the road, another elaborate hotel was built next to the GPO: the Hotel Metropole
, in a high-French style. Similarly the Gresham Hotel
opened in 1817 to the north of the street in adjoining Georgian townhouses and was later remodelled, as it became more successful.
As the fortunes of Upper Sackville Street began to improve in the second half of the century, other businesses began to open such as a Turkish Baths, later to be incorporated into the Hammam Hotel. Standard Life Assurance built their flagship Dublin branch in a striking classical style close to the GPO, while the Findlater family opened a branch of their successful chain close to Parnell Street, as did Gilbeys Wine Merchants
. A distinctive turreted office building by the firm of T.N. Deane was also built on the corner with Cathedral Street in 1866. The thoroughfare also became the centre of the Dublin tramways system, with many of the city's trams converging at the Nelson Pillar
. By 1900 Sackville Street became as venerable a shopping and business location as the institutions that lined it, a highly successful city centre thoroughfare that earned the title of 'Ireland's Main Street'.
Dublin Corporation was anxious as early as the 1880s to change the name, but faced considerable objections from local residents, who in 1885 secured a Court order that the Corporation lacked the powers to make the change. The necessary powers were granted in 1890, but presumably it was felt best to allow the new name to become popular. Over the years the name O'Connell Street gradually gained popular acceptance, and the name was changed officially in 1924.
of 1916, when Irish republicans
seized the General Post Office (GPO)
and proclaimed the Irish Republic
, led to the street's bombardment for a number of days by the gunboat Helga of the Royal Navy
and several other artillery pieces which were brought up to fire on the north of O'Connell Street. The thoroughfare also saw sustained small arms and sniper fire from surrounding areas. By the end of the week, the rebels had been forced to abandon the GPO, which was burning, and held out in Moore Street until they surrendered. Much of the street was reduced to rubble, the damaged areas including the whole eastern side of the street as far north as Cathedral Street, and the terrace in between the GPO and Abbey Street on the western side. In addition, during the chaos that accompanied the rebellion, the inhabitants of the nearby slums looted many of the shops on O’Connell Street.
The events had a disastrous impact on the commercial life of the inner city, with many businesses forced to close for up to six years for rebuilding, or some never even reopening. Vast tracts of Henry Street, North Earl Street, Eden Quay and parts of Abbey Street were also devastated, resulting in a loss of rates for Dublin Corporation
and a rise in unemployment in the city.
In the immediate aftermath of the Rising, the 'The Dublin Reconstruction (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1916' was drafted with the aim of controlling the nature of reconstruction on the thoroughfare. An expert group was also established in October 1916 which included the City Architect CJ McCarthy. Making use of the new Act, the group set out to rebuild in a coherent and dignified fashion, using the opportunity to modernise the nature of commercial activity on the street.
Plans were drawn up for unified terraces or 'blocks' of buildings, lined with retail outlets at street level and housing modern office accommodation in the upper floors. While the unified facades were never realised, and some developments didn't quite match the rest of the reconstruction efforts on the street leading to criticisms of an opportunity lost, Lower O'Connell Street was nonetheless rebuilt in a coherent fashion, its buildings maintaining a standard cornice line and making use of similar materials of limestone, granite, Portland stone, and red brick with stone dressings.
The imposing architectural idiom of 'commercial classicism' generates a strong sense of civic importance and grandeur, especially the first set of buildings on the street with their neo-classical features, and grand cupolas and copper domes piercing the skyline.
With the exception of its Sackville Street facade and portico, the vast structure of the General Post Office
was completely destroyed - a decade-long refurbishment project only having been completed a few weeks previous to its destruction. In the aftermath of the events, consideration was given to knocking the surviving facade, as were various plans proposed for the site such as a new Catholic cathedral for the city; in the end a new GPO was built behind the 1818 facade. Works got underway in 1924, eight years after the Rising, with the Henry Street side the first to be erected with new retail units at street level, a public shopping arcade linking through to Princes Street, and new offices on the upper floors.
The Public Office underneath the portico on O'Connell Street reopened in 1929.
O'Connell Street was again the scene of a pitched battle in July 1922, on the outbreak of the Irish Civil War, when anti-treaty fighters under Oscar Traynor
occupied the street after pro-treaty Irish National Army
troops attacked the republican garrison in the nearby Four Courts
. Fighting lasted from 28 June until 5 July, when the National Army troops brought artillery up to point blank range, under the cover of armoured cars, to bombard the republican-held buildings. Among the casualties was Cathal Brugha
. Luckily, none of the post-1916 reconstructed buildings were seriously damaged during the Civil War. The effects of the week's fighting were largely confined to the northern end of the street, with the vast majority of the terrace north of Cathedral Street to Parnell Square being destroyed, as well as a few buildings on the north-western side. As a result, only one Georgian townhouse remains on the street today, though there are still some other Georgian buildings extant on the corner with Henry Street, as well as some masked behind Victorian facades on the lower end of the street.
Because of the extensive destruction and rebuilding, most of the buildings on O'Connell Street date from the 1910s and 1920s. Apart from the GPO
, the famous buildings include the Gresham Hotel (reopened 1927), Eason & Son
booksellers, the Royal Dublin Hotel (opened 1963) and Clerys
department store (reopened 1922).
However, after four decades of neglect, the street has undergone a form of renaissance of late as part of Dublin City Council's O'Connell Street Integrated Area Plan (IAP) which was unveiled in 1998 with the aim of restoring the street to its former status. The first plan of its kind to be used in Ireland, the IAP sought to go beyond the often cosmetic changes undertaken by local authorities in addressing rundown areas, seeking to intervene and exert control in as many aspects of the street as possible, ranging from pedestrian and vehicle interaction, the governing of retail outlet type and buildings' upper floor uses, the protection of architectural heritage and wider historic character of O'Connell Street, the regulation of signage and decorative state of private property, as well as radical improvement works to the public domain. Work to realise the plan was delayed by approximately four years, and finally started in 2002.
The main features of the plan included:
All public domain works were completed in June 2006, finalising the principal objective of the IAP at a cost of €40 million. Work was disrupted by a riot
centred on the street which erupted on February 25, 2006. A protest against a planned Loyalist march degenerated into vandalism and looting, with building materials from the works in progress being used as weapons and for smashing windows and fixtures.
In efforts to protect O'Connell Street from the planning mistakes of the past, the thoroughfare has been designated an Architectural Conservation Area and an Area of Special Planning Control - both of which safeguards strictly govern all aspects of planning and development on the street. In most cases, not even comparatively minor alterations can be made to any structure, or changes in use (such as to fast-food etc.) without the planning permission of Dublin City Council. The majority of the buildings on the street are now also Protected Structures.
The north-western block (Henry Street, Moore Street, Parnell Street), is currently undergoing substantial demolition and redevelopment, subject to current restrictions.
Dubliners, who are famous for giving blunt nicknames to monuments, used to nickname the street 'the street of the Three Adulterers' because of the Victorian
allegations of adultery made against the three principal figures on the street commemorated by statues; Parnell, Nelson and O'Connell. It was also noted humorously that the statue of Charles Stewart Parnell, on which appears his famous words "No man has a right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation. To say to his country 'thus far shall thou go and no further", points to the Rotunda Hospital nearby, once Dublin's main maternity hospital, as though he was encouraging the Irish nation to outbreed its enemies.
The monuments on the O'Connell Street from south to north are:
Among the major buildings near to O'Connell Street are the Pro Cathedral (the church which serves as Dublin's de facto Roman Catholic cathedral, though it has never been raised formally to cathedral status, hence the name), the Rotunda Hospital
which serves as North Dublin's main maternity hospital, and several large modern shopping centres. South of the street, across O'Connell Bridge, lie Trinity College
and the Bank of Ireland
building, previously (before the Act of Union
in 1800) the Irish Houses of Parliament
.
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
, a nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
leader of the early nineteenth century whose statue stands at the lower end of the street, facing O'Connell Bridge
O'Connell Bridge
O'Connell Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, and joining O'Connell Street to D'Olier Street, Westmoreland Street and the south quays.-History:...
.
Introduction
Located in the heart of Dublin city, O'Connell Street forms part of a grand thoroughfare created in the 18th century that runs through the centre of the capital, O'Connell Bridge, Westmoreland Street, College Green and Dame Street, terminating at City Hall and Dublin CastleDublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
. Situated just north of the River Liffey
River Liffey
The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...
, the street has a fine axial positioning, running close to a north-south orientation. Lined with many handsome buildings, O'Connell Street is the most monumental of Dublin's commercial streets, having been largely rebuilt in the early 20th century following extensive destruction in the struggle for Irish independence and subsequent civil war. It has the air of an imposing 1920s boulevard, with signature stone-faced neoclassical buildings such as Clerys department store complemented by the more subtle grain of elegant bank and retail premises. O'Connell Street Upper by contrast retains something of its original 18th century character, with the western side conforming to original plot widths and some original fabric still intact.
The street's layout is simple but elegant. Not dissimilar to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
's Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
, though more intimate in scale, it has a wide pavement each side of the street serving the retail outlets that line its length, and a parallel pair of two-lane (formerly three-lane) roadways. A paved median space runs down the centre of the street, featuring monuments and statues to various Irish political leaders. The famous large London Plane
London Plane
Platanus × acerifolia, the London plane, London planetree, or hybrid plane, is a tree in the genus Platanus. It is usually thought to be a hybrid of Platanus orientalis and the Platanus occidentalis . Some authorities think that it may be a cultivar of P...
trees that lined the median for the second half of the 20th century were removed in 2003 amidst some controversy, with the oldest of these at the northern end planted c. 1903 being cut down in 2005 - all as part of an extensive regeneration scheme recently completed by Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...
.
The centre of the street is dominated by the imposing presence of the 1818 General Post Office
General Post Office (Dublin)
The General Post Office ' in Dublin is the headquarters of the Irish postal service, An Post, and Dublin's principal post office...
(GPO) with its hexastyle Ionic portico
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
projecting over the west pavement, and the 120 m (393 ft) Spire of Dublin
Spire of Dublin
The Spire of Dublin, officially titled the Monument of Light is a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument in height, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland.-Details:...
, a needle-like self supporting sculpture of rolled stainless steel erected in 2003. Both structures are addressed by a large civic plaza space, traversed by the street's two roadways.
O'Connell Street has often been centre-stage in Irish history, attracting the city's most prominent monuments and public art through the centuries, and formed the backdrop to one of the 1913 Dublin Lockout
Dublin Lockout
The Dublin Lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers which took place in Ireland's capital city of Dublin. The dispute lasted from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, and is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in...
gatherings, the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
, the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
of 1922, the destruction of the Nelson Pillar in 1966, and many public celebrations, protests and demonstrations through the years - a role it continues to play to this day. State funeral corteges have often passed the GPO on their way to Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery , officially known as Prospect Cemetery, is the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland with an estimated 1.5 million burials...
, while today the street is used as the main route of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, and as the setting for the 1916 Commemoration every Easter Sunday. It also serves as a major bus route artery through the city centre.
History
Earl of Drogheda
The title Earl of Drogheda was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1661 for the 3rd Viscount Moore, and is extant.Lord Drogheda also holds the titles Viscount Moore, of Drogheda , and Baron Moore, of Mellefont in the County of Louth in the Peerage of Ireland and Baron Moore, of Cobham in the...
, it was a third of the width of the present-day O'Connell Street, located on the site of the modern eastern carriageway and extending from Parnell Street
Parnell Street
Parnell Street is located on Dublin's Northside and runs from Capel Street in the west to Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square in the east, and is at the north end of O'Connell Street, where it provides the south side of Parnell Square....
to the junction with Abbey Street
Abbey Street
Abbey Street is located on Dublin's Northside and is one of the principal shopping streets of Dublin, running from the Customs House in the east to Capel Street in the west...
. In the 1740s, a wealthy banker and property speculator by the name of Luke Gardiner
Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy
Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy PC was an Irish landowner and politician.He was the son of Charles Gardiner by his wife Florinda, daughter of Robert Norman. His sister Anne later became Countess of Clancarty. On 3 July 1773 he married Elizabeth, daughter of William Montgomery, an MP for...
acquired the upper part of Drogheda Street extending down to Henry Street as part of a much larger land deal. He demolished the western side of Drogheda Street creating an exclusive elongated residential square 46m (150 feet) in width, thus establishing the scale of the modern-day thoroughfare. The new, more ordered western side featured modest two-bay houses to the south intended for merchants, and larger three-bay houses further north, while the eastern side had many mansions, the grandest of which was Drogheda House rented by the sixth Earl of Drogheda
Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda
Field Marshal Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda KP, PC was a British peer and military officer, styled Viscount Moore until 1758.-Military career:...
. Gardiner also laid out a mall down the central section of the street, lined with low granite walls and obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
s topped with oil-fuelled lamp globes. It was planted with trees a few years later. He titled the new development 'Sackville Street' after the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lionel Cranfield Sackville
Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset
Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, PC was an English political leader and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was the son of the 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex and the former Lady Mary Compton, younger daughter of the 3rd Earl of Northampton...
, Duke of Dorset. It was also known as 'Sackville Mall', 'Gardiner's Mall' or simply 'The Mall'. However due to the limited lands owned by the Gardiners in this area, the Rotunda Hospital
Rotunda Hospital
The Rotunda Hospital is one of the three main maternity hospitals in the city of Dublin, the others being the The Coombe and The National Maternity Hospital...
sited just off the street at the bottom of Parnell Square - also developed by the family - was not built on axis with Sackville Street, terminating the vista.
It had been Gardiner's intention to eventually break this grand new street through to the river, however he died in 1755, with his son
Charles Gardiner
Charles Gardiner was an Irish landowner and politician.He was the son of Luke Gardiner and his wife Anne, daughter of Alexander Stewart and granddaughter of William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy. On 20 March 1741 he married Florinda, daughter of Robert Norman.From 1742 to 1760 he represented...
taking over the estate.
It was not until 1777 that the planning body in the city, the Wide Streets Commission
Wide Streets Commission
The Wide Streets Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 1757, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the layout of streets, bridges, buildings and other architectural considerations in Dublin...
, obtained a financial grant from Parliament and work could begin to realise this plan. For the next 10 years work progressed in demolishing a myriad of dwellings and other buildings, laying out the new roadway and building new terraces. Upon completion c. 1785-90, one of the finest streets in Europe had been created. The Wide Streets Commission had envisaged and realised marching terraces of unified and proportioned facades extending from the river as far north as Princes Street, their simple red brick elevations off-set with a major classical cut stone building near the centre (later to be the GPO built in 1814-18). The street became a commercial success upon the opening of Carlisle Bridge, designed by James Gandon
James Gandon
James Gandon is today recognised as one of the leading architects to have worked in Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House, the Four Courts, King's Inns in Dublin and Emo Court in Co...
, in 1793 for pedestrians and 1795 for all traffic.
19th century
Sackville Street prospered in the 1800s, though an invisible boundary seems to have been maintained for some time between the Upper and Lower street. As planned, Lower Sackville Street became highly successful as a commercial location; its terraces ambitiously lined with purpose-designed retail units, one of the first schemes of its kind in Europe. By contrast the northern end proved not to be as successful initially; being exposed to the commercial activity of the lower street, it lost its fashionability as a quiet enclave of grand townhouses, whilst also being too far away from the commercial core of the city to stand as a strong retail location. As a result a difference between the two ends of the street developed: the planned lower end successful and bustling next to the river, and the upper end featuring a mixture of less prominent businesses and old townhouses, some converted for commercial use and growing somewhat decrepit. Upon his visit to Dublin in 1845, William Makepeace Thackeray observed: "The street is exceedingly broad and handsome; the shops at the commencement, rich and spacious; but in Upper Sackville Street, which closes with the pretty building and gardens of the Rotunda, the appearance of wealth begins to fade somewhat, and the houses look as if they had seen better days. Even in this, the great street of the town, there is scarcely any one, and it is as vacant and listless as Pall Mall in October."Hotel Metropole, Dublin
The Hotel Metropole was a notable landmark in Dublin. It was located next to the General Post Office building in O'Connell Street. Originally four georgian buildings - they were combined together to form a hotel. The building suffered badly during the Easter Rising...
, in a high-French style. Similarly the Gresham Hotel
Gresham Hotel
The Gresham Hotel is a hotel in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Located on O'Connell Street, the hotel is a Dublin institution. This landmark building has recently been refurbished.-History:...
opened in 1817 to the north of the street in adjoining Georgian townhouses and was later remodelled, as it became more successful.
As the fortunes of Upper Sackville Street began to improve in the second half of the century, other businesses began to open such as a Turkish Baths, later to be incorporated into the Hammam Hotel. Standard Life Assurance built their flagship Dublin branch in a striking classical style close to the GPO, while the Findlater family opened a branch of their successful chain close to Parnell Street, as did Gilbeys Wine Merchants
Walter Gilbey
Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet DL was an English wine-merchant and philanthropist.He was born at Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire to parents Henry and Elizabeth Gilbey...
. A distinctive turreted office building by the firm of T.N. Deane was also built on the corner with Cathedral Street in 1866. The thoroughfare also became the centre of the Dublin tramways system, with many of the city's trams converging at the Nelson Pillar
Nelson's Pillar
The Nelson Pillar , known locally as Nelson's Pillar or simply The Pillar, was a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson in the middle of O'Connell Street, Dublin...
. By 1900 Sackville Street became as venerable a shopping and business location as the institutions that lined it, a highly successful city centre thoroughfare that earned the title of 'Ireland's Main Street'.
Dublin Corporation was anxious as early as the 1880s to change the name, but faced considerable objections from local residents, who in 1885 secured a Court order that the Corporation lacked the powers to make the change. The necessary powers were granted in 1890, but presumably it was felt best to allow the new name to become popular. Over the years the name O'Connell Street gradually gained popular acceptance, and the name was changed officially in 1924.
Impact of events of 1916 and 1922
The Easter RisingEaster Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916, when Irish republicans
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
seized the General Post Office (GPO)
General Post Office (Dublin)
The General Post Office ' in Dublin is the headquarters of the Irish postal service, An Post, and Dublin's principal post office...
and proclaimed the Irish Republic
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...
, led to the street's bombardment for a number of days by the gunboat Helga of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and several other artillery pieces which were brought up to fire on the north of O'Connell Street. The thoroughfare also saw sustained small arms and sniper fire from surrounding areas. By the end of the week, the rebels had been forced to abandon the GPO, which was burning, and held out in Moore Street until they surrendered. Much of the street was reduced to rubble, the damaged areas including the whole eastern side of the street as far north as Cathedral Street, and the terrace in between the GPO and Abbey Street on the western side. In addition, during the chaos that accompanied the rebellion, the inhabitants of the nearby slums looted many of the shops on O’Connell Street.
The events had a disastrous impact on the commercial life of the inner city, with many businesses forced to close for up to six years for rebuilding, or some never even reopening. Vast tracts of Henry Street, North Earl Street, Eden Quay and parts of Abbey Street were also devastated, resulting in a loss of rates for Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation , known by generations of Dubliners simply as The Corpo, is the former name given to the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin between 1661 and 1 January 2002...
and a rise in unemployment in the city.
In the immediate aftermath of the Rising, the 'The Dublin Reconstruction (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1916' was drafted with the aim of controlling the nature of reconstruction on the thoroughfare. An expert group was also established in October 1916 which included the City Architect CJ McCarthy. Making use of the new Act, the group set out to rebuild in a coherent and dignified fashion, using the opportunity to modernise the nature of commercial activity on the street.
Plans were drawn up for unified terraces or 'blocks' of buildings, lined with retail outlets at street level and housing modern office accommodation in the upper floors. While the unified facades were never realised, and some developments didn't quite match the rest of the reconstruction efforts on the street leading to criticisms of an opportunity lost, Lower O'Connell Street was nonetheless rebuilt in a coherent fashion, its buildings maintaining a standard cornice line and making use of similar materials of limestone, granite, Portland stone, and red brick with stone dressings.
The imposing architectural idiom of 'commercial classicism' generates a strong sense of civic importance and grandeur, especially the first set of buildings on the street with their neo-classical features, and grand cupolas and copper domes piercing the skyline.
With the exception of its Sackville Street facade and portico, the vast structure of the General Post Office
General Post Office (Dublin)
The General Post Office ' in Dublin is the headquarters of the Irish postal service, An Post, and Dublin's principal post office...
was completely destroyed - a decade-long refurbishment project only having been completed a few weeks previous to its destruction. In the aftermath of the events, consideration was given to knocking the surviving facade, as were various plans proposed for the site such as a new Catholic cathedral for the city; in the end a new GPO was built behind the 1818 facade. Works got underway in 1924, eight years after the Rising, with the Henry Street side the first to be erected with new retail units at street level, a public shopping arcade linking through to Princes Street, and new offices on the upper floors.
The Public Office underneath the portico on O'Connell Street reopened in 1929.
O'Connell Street was again the scene of a pitched battle in July 1922, on the outbreak of the Irish Civil War, when anti-treaty fighters under Oscar Traynor
Oscar Traynor
Oscar Traynor was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and revolutionary. He served in a number of Cabinet positions, most notably as the country's longest-serving Minister for Defence....
occupied the street after pro-treaty Irish National Army
Irish National Army
The Irish National Army or National Army was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922-1 October 1924. Michael Collins, its Chief of Staff from June 1921 until his death in August 1922, was the last Chief of Staff of the IRA that had fought the Irish War of Independence...
troops attacked the republican garrison in the nearby Four Courts
Four Courts
The Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's main courts building. The Four Courts are the location of the Supreme Court, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. The building until 2010 also formerly was the location for the Central Criminal Court.-Gandon's Building:Work based on...
. Fighting lasted from 28 June until 5 July, when the National Army troops brought artillery up to point blank range, under the cover of armoured cars, to bombard the republican-held buildings. Among the casualties was Cathal Brugha
Cathal Brugha
Cathal Brugha was an Irish revolutionary and politician, active in the Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War and was the first Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann.-Background:...
. Luckily, none of the post-1916 reconstructed buildings were seriously damaged during the Civil War. The effects of the week's fighting were largely confined to the northern end of the street, with the vast majority of the terrace north of Cathedral Street to Parnell Square being destroyed, as well as a few buildings on the north-western side. As a result, only one Georgian townhouse remains on the street today, though there are still some other Georgian buildings extant on the corner with Henry Street, as well as some masked behind Victorian facades on the lower end of the street.
Because of the extensive destruction and rebuilding, most of the buildings on O'Connell Street date from the 1910s and 1920s. Apart from the GPO
General Post Office (Dublin)
The General Post Office ' in Dublin is the headquarters of the Irish postal service, An Post, and Dublin's principal post office...
, the famous buildings include the Gresham Hotel (reopened 1927), Eason & Son
Eason & Son
Eason & Son is a group involved in the wholesale, distribution and retail of books, newspapers, magazines, stationery and cards on the island of Ireland ....
booksellers, the Royal Dublin Hotel (opened 1963) and Clerys
Clerys
Clerys is a long-established department store on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, a focal point of the street, and of the city....
department store (reopened 1922).
Modern O'Connell Street
Despite the progress made in improving the street's architectural coherence post-1916 and 1922, poor planning controls in the 1970s and 1980s had a negative impact on the vitality and presentation of O'Connell Street. Like much of Dublin of that time, property speculators and developers were permitted to construct on the thoroughfare what were widely accepted to be inappropriately designed buildings, often entailing the demolition of historic properties, in spite of its Conservation Area status. Fine Victorian and 1920s buildings were demolished in the 1970s including the elaborate Gilbey's premises at the northern end, the Metropole and Capitol cinemas next to the GPO, and even the last intact Wide Streets Commission buildings on the street dating from the 1780s located on the present day site of a well-known shoe shop at the southern end of the street. Coupled with a neglect of the public domain by the authorities, the emergence of many fast-food joints, gaming arcades, convenience shops and deadening office developments, and poor planning controls that enabled plastic signage, PVC windows and inappropriate alterations to buildings to flourish, O'Connell Street became a shadow of its former self as one of the grand thoroughfares of Europe.However, after four decades of neglect, the street has undergone a form of renaissance of late as part of Dublin City Council's O'Connell Street Integrated Area Plan (IAP) which was unveiled in 1998 with the aim of restoring the street to its former status. The first plan of its kind to be used in Ireland, the IAP sought to go beyond the often cosmetic changes undertaken by local authorities in addressing rundown areas, seeking to intervene and exert control in as many aspects of the street as possible, ranging from pedestrian and vehicle interaction, the governing of retail outlet type and buildings' upper floor uses, the protection of architectural heritage and wider historic character of O'Connell Street, the regulation of signage and decorative state of private property, as well as radical improvement works to the public domain. Work to realise the plan was delayed by approximately four years, and finally started in 2002.
The main features of the plan included:
- The widening of footpaths to double their previous width on each side of the street and a reduction in road space to two traffic lanes either side of a slightly narrower central median.
- The removal of all London plane trees and the installation of over 200 replacements of varying species.
- The creation of a central plaza area in front of the GPO to address the street's principal building and provide a space for public gatherings and national celebrations.
- New street furnishings including custom-designed lampposts, litter bins and retail kiosks.
- The Spire of DublinSpire of DublinThe Spire of Dublin, officially titled the Monument of Light is a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument in height, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland.-Details:...
project, the world's tallest sculpture, erected in January 2003, occupying the site of the former Nelson's PillarNelson's PillarThe Nelson Pillar , known locally as Nelson's Pillar or simply The Pillar, was a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson in the middle of O'Connell Street, Dublin...
. - The restoration of the street's monuments, including those of late nineteenth century Irish political leader Charles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
, radical early twentieth century labour leader Jim Larkin, prominent businessman and nationalist MP Sir John Grey, and the most challenging of all: the conservation of the O'Connell Monument standing guard at the southern entrance to the thoroughfare. This project was worked on for a number of months by an expert team of bronze and stone conservators in the first half of 2005.
All public domain works were completed in June 2006, finalising the principal objective of the IAP at a cost of €40 million. Work was disrupted by a riot
2006 Dublin riots
The 2006 Dublin riots were a series of riots which occurred in Dublin on 25 February 2006, precipitated by a proposed controversial march down O'Connell Street of a unionist demonstration. The disturbances began when members of An Garda Síochána attempted to disperse a group of...
centred on the street which erupted on February 25, 2006. A protest against a planned Loyalist march degenerated into vandalism and looting, with building materials from the works in progress being used as weapons and for smashing windows and fixtures.
In efforts to protect O'Connell Street from the planning mistakes of the past, the thoroughfare has been designated an Architectural Conservation Area and an Area of Special Planning Control - both of which safeguards strictly govern all aspects of planning and development on the street. In most cases, not even comparatively minor alterations can be made to any structure, or changes in use (such as to fast-food etc.) without the planning permission of Dublin City Council. The majority of the buildings on the street are now also Protected Structures.
The north-western block (Henry Street, Moore Street, Parnell Street), is currently undergoing substantial demolition and redevelopment, subject to current restrictions.
Statues of O'Connell Street
Victorian morality
Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria's reign and of the moral climate of the United Kingdom throughout the 19th century in general, which contrasted greatly with the morality of the previous Georgian period...
allegations of adultery made against the three principal figures on the street commemorated by statues; Parnell, Nelson and O'Connell. It was also noted humorously that the statue of Charles Stewart Parnell, on which appears his famous words "No man has a right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation. To say to his country 'thus far shall thou go and no further", points to the Rotunda Hospital nearby, once Dublin's main maternity hospital, as though he was encouraging the Irish nation to outbreed its enemies.
The monuments on the O'Connell Street from south to north are:
- Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
: designed and sculpted by John Henry FoleyJohn Henry FoleyJohn Henry Foley , often referred to as JH Foley, was an Irish sculptor, best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell in Dublin, and of Prince Albert in London. Both are still considered iconic in each city.-Life:...
and completed by his assistant Thomas Brock. Widely considered Foley’s finest work, the foundation stone was laid in 1864 and the monument unveiled to enormous crowds in 1882.
- William Smith O'BrienWilliam Smith O'BrienWilliam Smith O'Brien was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen's Land. In 1854, he was...
: by Thomas Farrell. Originally erected in 1870 on an island at the O'Connell Bridge entrance to D'Olier Street, it was moved to O'Connell Street in 1929.
- Sir John GrayJohn Gray (Irish politician)Sir John Gray Knt MD JP, sometimes spelled John Grey was an Irish physician, surgeon, newspaper proprietor, journalist and politician...
: by Thomas Farrell. Both plinth and statue carved entirely of white Sicilian marble, it was unveiled in 1879. Gray was the proprietor of the Freeman's JournalFreeman's JournalThe Freeman's Journal was the oldest nationalist newspaper in Ireland. It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radical 18th century Protestant patriot politicians Henry Grattan and Henry Flood...
newspaper and as a member of Dublin Corporation was responsible for the construction of the Dublin water supply system based on the Vartry ReservoirVartry ReservoirVartry Reservoir is a reservoir at Roundwood in County Wicklow, Ireland. The water is piped from Vartry to a large open service reservoir in Stillorgan in the southern suburbs of Dublin. The reservoir is operated by Dublin City Council....
.
- James LarkinJames LarkinJames Larkin was an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist, born to Irish parents in Liverpool, England. He and his family later moved to a small cottage in Burren, southern County Down. Growing up in poverty, he received little formal education and began working in a variety of jobs...
: by Oisín KellyOisín KellyOisín Kelly was an Irish sculptor.Kelly was born as Austin Kelly in Dublin, the son of William Kelly, principal of James's Street National School, and his wife Elizabeth . Until he became an artist in residence at the Kilkenny Design Centre in 1966, he worked as a school teacher...
. An expressive bronze statue atop a granite plinth, the monument was unveiled in 1980. Originally Larkin's birth date was incorrectly incised into the plinth as '1876', and later altered to '1874' - hence the slight alteration marks to the text.
- Father Theobald MathewTheobald Mathew (temperance reformer)Theobald Mathew , an Irish teetotalist reformer, popularly known as Father Mathew was born at Thomastown, near Golden, County Tipperary, on October 10, 1790....
: by Mary RedmondMary RedmondMary Redmond was an Irish sculptress born in Nenagh, County Tipperary in 1863, and then raised in Ardclough, County Kildare, where her father came to work in the limestone quarries....
. The foundation stone was laid in 1890, and the monument unveiled in 1893.
- Charles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
: the Parnell Monument by Irish-American sculptor Augustus Saint-GaudensAugustus Saint-GaudensAugustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
. The 57ft high obelisk is made of solid Galway granite and was paid for through public subscription and unveiled in 1911 at the junction with Parnell StreetParnell StreetParnell Street is located on Dublin's Northside and runs from Capel Street in the west to Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square in the east, and is at the north end of O'Connell Street, where it provides the south side of Parnell Square....
, just south of Parnell Square for which Dublin Corporation re-routed the tramTramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
tracks to facilitate the siting of the monument.
- Nelson's PillarNelson's PillarThe Nelson Pillar , known locally as Nelson's Pillar or simply The Pillar, was a large granite pillar topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson in the middle of O'Connell Street, Dublin...
, a 36.8 m (121 ft) granite Doric column erected in 1808 in honour of Admiral Lord NelsonHoratio Nelson, 1st Viscount NelsonHoratio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
, formerly stood at the centre of the street on the site of the present day SpireSpire of DublinThe Spire of Dublin, officially titled the Monument of Light is a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument in height, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland.-Details:...
. Blown up by republican activists in 1966, the site remained vacant until the erection of the Spire in 2003.
Among the major buildings near to O'Connell Street are the Pro Cathedral (the church which serves as Dublin's de facto Roman Catholic cathedral, though it has never been raised formally to cathedral status, hence the name), the Rotunda Hospital
Rotunda Hospital
The Rotunda Hospital is one of the three main maternity hospitals in the city of Dublin, the others being the The Coombe and The National Maternity Hospital...
which serves as North Dublin's main maternity hospital, and several large modern shopping centres. South of the street, across O'Connell Bridge, lie Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
and the Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
building, previously (before the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
in 1800) the Irish Houses of Parliament
Irish Houses of Parliament
The Irish Houses of Parliament , also known as the Irish Parliament House, today called the Bank of Ireland, College Green due to its use as by the bank, was the world's first purpose-built two-chamber parliament house...
.