Spire of Dublin

I have been spending the past few months trying to get used to the cold here in Ireland. I was thinking that if I finally settle down, I would be going out of town every weekend. However, it is not as easy. First of all, transport to the beautiful areas of Ireland would most of the time need a car. Although I do drive, I do not like driving for long periods especially when you see the small roads they have in the countryside. Additionally, although it is a sightseeing trip, by the time I arrive after a 3 hour drive, I will be too tired to do anything. I surprisingly got a few days off from work and I decided that this was the time to go around. It was still cold as ever but at least I have time on my side. One of the places which I happened to have on my list is Dublin itself. Apart from the airport, I haven’t really seen much of Dublin, I thought it would be good time to see the big city.

I took a bus 32 from the Letterkenny bus station which happens to pass through the airport and terminate at the Dublin bus station called Busaras. I got an early morning bus ride so I would get there around 9:30 in the morning. The bus ride was quite uneventful though a bit scary since there were no lights on the road on the way to Dublin, unless we happen to pass through some towns. It is amazing that they even have this trip at all. By morning we were already in the Dublin Bus Terminal. I was hoping to leave my stuff at the bed and breakfast I booked but it turns out that they weren’t ready yet. So I decided to start my exploration of Dublin. The bus from the bed and breakfast happens to pass by one of the more significant landmarks in the city. This was the Spire of Dublin. It is basically a very, very tall cylindrical cone. It is made from stainless steel and it rises high above the city of Dublin.

The Spire of Dublin seems to be the latest of the city’s efforts to revitalize O’Connell Street, where the spire is located at. O’Connell Street is one of the most important streets in Dublin however it has fallen into disrepair over the years. The spire was completed in early 2003 and it is called the world’s tallest sculpture. I am not sure how that claim holds, but it is indeed quite tall. Indeed, it can be seen throughout the city, and at night, there are LED lights which lightup the top of the spire. For something a simple as a cylindrical cone, efforts have been made to make sure it keeps standing. Although the profile of the spire is small, a damper was installed on top to counteract swaying. The stainless steel was also processed to make sure that it is very reflective. And at the base, there is a pattern which is said to be from the sample of rock where the spire now stands.

Everyone seems to have their own opinion about the spire. Some like it, some hate it saying that it is an eyesore, while other complain about the cost of maintaining it. The supposedly “self-cleaning” spire, the city of Dublin has already spent 2 million euros to clean and maintain ever since it was built.

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