Editing O'Connell Street

{{Short description|Key street of Dublin, Ireland}}
{{About|the street in Dublin|the street in Limerick|O'Connell Street, Limerick}}
{{Good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox street
| name                    = O'Connell Street
| native_name             ={{native name|ga|Sráid Uí Chonaill}}
| image                   = Daniel O'Connell statue 1998-1.jpg
| image_size              = 220px
| image_alt               = View of statue and monument from ground level
| caption                 = The [[O'Connell Monument, Dublin|O'Connell Monument]]. A memorial to 19th-century leader [[Daniel O'Connell]] by [[John Henry Foley]], which stands at the entrance to the street
| former_names            = Drogheda Street{{Clear}}Sackville Street
| other_name              = Gardiner's Mall
| map_type                = Ireland Central Dublin
| map_caption             = Location within Dublin
| coordinates             = {{Coord|53|20|58|N|6|15|37|W|display=inline,title}}
| length_km               = 0.5
| location                = Dublin, Ireland
| direction_a             = North
| terminus_a              = [[Parnell Street]]
| direction_b             = South
| terminus_b              = [[River Liffey]]
| metro_system            = Tram
| metro                   = O'Connell Street (Upper), O'Connell Street (GPO) ([[Luas]])
| known_for               = {{unbulleted list|[[General Post Office, Dublin|General Post Office]]|[[Clerys]]|[[Hotel Metropole, Dublin|Hotel Metropole]]}}
| website                 = 
}}

'''O'Connell Street''' ({{irish place name|Sráid Uí Chonaill|no_translate=yes}}) is a street in the centre of [[Dublin]], Ireland, running north from the [[River Liffey]]. It connects the [[O'Connell Bridge]] to the south with [[Parnell Street]] to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by [[Henry Street, Dublin|Henry Street]]. The [[Luas]] tram system runs along the street.

During the 17th century, it was a narrow street known as Drogheda Street, named after [[Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda]]. It was widened in the late 18th century by the [[Wide Streets Commission]] and renamed '''Sackville Street''' (''Sráid Saicfil'') after [[Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset]]. In 1924, it was renamed in honour of [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] leader [[Daniel O'Connell]], whose statue by John Henry Foley stands at the lower end of the street facing O'Connell Bridge.

The street has played an important part in Irish history and features several important monuments, including statues of O'Connell and trade union leader [[James Larkin]], as well as the [[Spire of Dublin]]. It formed the backdrop to one of the 1913 [[Dublin lock-out]] gatherings, the 1916 [[Easter Rising]], the [[Irish Civil War]] of 1922, the destruction of [[Nelson's Pillar]] in 1966 and the Dublin riots of [[2006 Dublin riots|2006]] and [[2023 Dublin riot|2023]]. In the late 20th century, a comprehensive plan was begun to restore the street to its original 19th-century character.

==Location==
O'Connell Street is located on the north side of Dublin city, and runs northwards from [[O'Connell Bridge]] towards [[Parnell Square]]. The street is approximately {{convert|1980|ft}} long and {{convert|150|ft}} wide, with two broad carriageways at either side of a central pathway occupied by various monuments and statues.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=212}} It has previously been part of the [[M1 motorway (Republic of Ireland)|N1]], a major road from Dublin to [[Belfast]].<ref name=gmap/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/plan-to-reduce-speed-limit-to-30km-h-throughout-most-of-dublin-city-centre-1.744986|title=Plan to reduce speed limit to 30km/h throughout most of Dublin city centre|newspaper=Irish Times|date=15 April 2009|access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref> There are two [[Luas]] tram stops along the street, O'Connell GPO and O'Connell Upper.<ref name=gmap>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/53.3469942,-6.2591364/53.3524183,-6.2615376/@53.3508007,-6.263207,17.27z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e2|title=O'Connell Street|publisher=[[Google Maps]]|access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref> The street has a number of bus stops for [[Dublin Bus]] and other bus companies, with many cross-city and north-bound services stopping there.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scannell|first=James|date=2006|title=From Horse Drawn Trams to LUAS: A Look at Public Transport in Dublin from the 1870's to the Present Time|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30101601|journal=Dublin Historical Record|volume=59|issue=1|pages=5–18|jstor=30101601|issn=0012-6861}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=O'Connell Street Bus Stops - Dublin Bus |url=https://www.dublinbus.ie/Your-Journey1/City-Centre-Bus-Stops/OConnell-Street-Bus-Stops/ |website=www.dublinbus.ie |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Buses and Trams from O'Connell Street |url=https://www.transportforireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2_OConnell_Street_A3.pdf|website=Transport for Ireland |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref>

==Development==
[[File:Sackville St and Gardiner's Mall in the 1750s by Oliver Grace.jpg|thumb|left|Sackville Street and Gardiner's Mall in the 1750s|alt=Map of a street flanked with houses on either side, 1750s]]
===Drogheda Street===
O'Connell Street evolved from the earlier 17th-century Drogheda Street, laid out by [[Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda]].{{sfn|Wallis|Connolly|Greenwood|2002|p=139}} 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]].{{sfn|Wallis|Connolly|Greenwood|2002|p=130}}

===Sackville Street (Gardiner's Mall)===
In the 1740s, the banker and property developer [[Luke Gardiner]] acquired the upper part of Drogheda Street extending down to [[Henry Street, Dublin|Henry Street]] as part of a land deal.{{sfn|Wallis|Connolly|Greenwood|2002|p=130}} He demolished the western side of Drogheda Street creating an exclusive elongated residential square {{convert|1050|ft}} long and {{convert|150|ft}} wide, thus establishing the scale of the modern-day thoroughfare.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=212}}

A number of properties were built along the new western side of the street,{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=224}} while the eastern side had many mansions, the grandest of which was Drogheda House rented by the [[Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda|sixth Earl of Drogheda]] and sat on the corner of [[Cathedral Street, Dublin|Cathedral Street]].{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=213}} Gardiner also laid out a mall down the central section of the street, lined with low granite walls and [[obelisk]]s.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=212}} It was planted with trees a few years later. He titled the new development Sackville Street after the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [[Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset|Lionel Cranfield Sackville]], Duke of Dorset.{{sfn|Killeen|2010|p=45}} It was also known as 'Sackville Mall',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.universitytimes.ie/2018/02/the-demise-of-oconnell-street/|title=The Demise of O'Connell Street|newspaper=University Times|first=Phoebe|last=Eddleston|date=5 February 2018|access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref> and 'Gardiner's Mall'.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/last-georgian-house-on-dublin-s-o-connell-street-is-at-risk-from-neglect-1.3784304|title=Last Georgian house on Dublin's O'Connell Street is at risk from neglect|newspaper=Irish Times|date=7 February 2019|access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=212}} It had been Gardiner's intention to connect the new street through to the river, however, he died in 1755, with his son [[Charles Gardiner|Charles]] taking over the estate.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=118}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a3424-A#A|title=Gardiner, Luke|work=Dictionary of Irish Biography|publisher=Cambridge University Press|access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref>

Work did not start until 1757 when the city's planning body, the [[Wide Streets Commission]], obtained a financial grant from Parliament.{{sfn|Carroll|2006|p=152}} 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.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=213}} The Wide Streets Commission had envisaged and realised matching terraces of unified and proportioned façades extending from the river.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iar.ie/Archive.shtml?IE%20DCLA/WSC/|title=Wide Streets Commission|work=Irish Archives Resource|access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref> Because of a dispute over land, a plot on the northwest of the street remained vacant; this later became the [[General Post Office, Dublin|General Post Office]] (GPO) which opened in 1814.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=213}} 

In 1764, an English traveller named John Bush visited Dublin and made the following assessment of the street: "''There are on this side (north of the Liffey) many spacious and regular streets: one in particular in the north-east part of the town. Sackville-Street, about 70 feet wide or nearly, with a mall enclosed with a low wall..."''. Bush, however, bemoaned the failures of the builder for not having aligned the street with the Rotunda Hospital at its northern end.<ref name="Bushp10">{{citation |url = https://archive.org/details/hiberniacuriosa00bush/page/10/mode/2up?view=theater |last=Bush |first=John |title=Hibernia Curiosa: A Letter from a Gentleman in Dublin to his Friend at Dover in Kent, Giving a general View of the Manners, Customs, Dispositions, &c. of the Inhabitants of Ireland. | year=1769 |publisher=London (W. Flexney); Dublin (J. Potts and J. Williams) |location=London | page = 10-11 }}</ref>

The street became a commercial success upon the opening of [[O'Connell Bridge|Carlisle Bridge]], designed by [[James Gandon]], in 1792 for pedestrians and in 1795 for all traffic.{{sfn|Casey|2005|pp=213,420}}

==19th century==
[[File:Sackville St Dublin 1842.jpg|thumb|left|Sackville Street in 1842|alt=View of the main street with a pillar in the centre]]
Sackville Street prospered in the 19th century, though there was some difference between the Upper and Lower streets. Lower Sackville Street became successful as a commercial location;{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=213}} its terraces are ambitiously lined with purpose-designed retail units.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=224}} Consequently, a difference between the two ends of the street developed: the planned lower end is successful and bustling next to the river, and the upper end features a mixture of less prominent businesses and old townhouses.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|pp=224–225}} Upon his visit to Dublin in 1845, [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] observed the street was "broad and handsome" but noted the upper section featured less distinctive architecture and had a distinct lack of patronage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Thackeray|first=W. M.|title=An Irish Sketch Book|year=1846|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/isb/isb01.htm |access-date=10 January 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Nelson Pillar, 1830.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Nelson's Pillar|Pillar]] and [[General Post Office, Dublin|General Post Office]] {{circa|1830}}|alt=View of a building to the left, with a pillar straight ahead]]
During the 19th century, Sackville Street changed in character from the Wide Streets Commission design into a boulevard of individual buildings.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}} One of the world's first purpose-built department stores was such a building: Delany's New Mart 'Monster Store' which opened in 1853 was later purchased by the Clery family.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/clerys-reopens-today-1184193-Nov2013/|title=Hurrah! Clerys to reopen today – just in time for Christmas|newspaper=The Journal|date=21 November 2013|access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref> It also housed the [[Imperial Hotel, Dublin|Imperial Hotel]]. Across the road, another elaborate hotel was built next to the GPO: the [[Hotel Metropole, Dublin|Hotel Metropole]], in a high-French style. Similarly, the [[Gresham Hotel]] opened on numbers 21 and 22 in 1817 to the north of the street in adjoining Georgian townhouses and was later remodelled, as it became more successful.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=214}}

[[File:Postcard scan OConnell Br and Street (Sackville St) Dublin, early 20th century.jpg|thumb|left|Sackville Street (and the bridge), with trams, {{circa|1905}}|alt=View of the bridge and street taken from a high building, showing trams on the roadway]]
As the fortunes of Upper Sackville Street began to improve in the second half of the century, other businesses began to open such as the [[Victorian Turkish baths|Turkish baths]] built at the rear of Reynold's Hotel, and opened in 1869 as the renamed Hammam Family Hotel and Turkish Baths.{{sfn|Foley|2016|p=104}}{{sfn|Shifrin|2015|pp=47—49}} [[Standard Life#History|Standard Life Assurance]] built their flagship Dublin branch on the street,{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=217}} while the Findlater family opened a branch of their successful chain close to Parnell Street, as did [[Walter Gilbey|Gilbey's Wine Merchants]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.libraryireland.com/Dublin-Street-Directory-1862/1224.php|title=Sackville Street, Upper|work=Thom's Almanac and Official Directory for the Year 1862|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> The thoroughfare also became the centre of the [[Dublin tramways]] system, with many of the city's trams converging at the [[Nelson's Pillar|Nelson Pillar]].<ref>{{cite map|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dublin_1922-23_Map_Suburbs_MatureTrams_wFaresTimes_Trains_EarlyBus_Canals_pub.png|title=Map of Dublin, Ireland, with suburbs, administrative divisions, details of the tram systems|publisher=Dublin Civic Survey Committee|year=1923|access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref> By 1900, Sackville Street had become an important location for shopping and business, which led to it being called "Ireland's Main Street".{{sfn|Haddock|2010|p=140}}

During the 19th century, the street began to be known as "O'Connell Street" though this was considered by some to be a "nationalist" name.{{sfn|MacDonald|1890|p=229}} Dublin Corporation was anxious as early as the 1880s to change the name but faced considerable objections from residents and business owners on the street. With the unveiling of the [[O'Connell Monument, Dublin|O'Connell Monument]] on the street in 1882 and subsequent renaming of the Carlisle Bridge as O'Connell Bridge in his honour, it marked "an important move away from commemorating only members of the [[Dublin Castle administration|Castle administration]] or the [[British royal family]]" in the street,<ref name = DC>{{cite web |title=History of Monuments - O'Connell Street Area|url=https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/media/file-uploads/2018-05/history_monuments_oconnell_st.pdf |website=[[Dublin City Council]] |access-date=2024-05-27}}</ref> according to a 2003 report commissioned by Dublin City Council.

Despite objections, the Corporation passed a resolution to rename the street in December 1884, but in 1885, aggrieved locals, with the Attorney General of Ireland arguing their case, secured a Court order holding that the Corporation lacked the powers to make such a change.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=212}}<ref name="Examiner_850713">{{Cite news |date=13 July 1885 |title=The proposed re-naming of Sackville Street - an injunction granted against the Corporation |work=The [[Cork Examiner]] |pages=4}}</ref> The necessary powers were granted in 1890, but it may have been 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, without any protest, in 1924.{{sfn|Osborough|1996|p=46}}

==Easter Rising and Independence==
On 31 August 1913, O'Connell Street saw the worst incident in the [[Dublin lock-out]], a major dispute between workers and the police. During a speech given by workers' rights activist [[James Larkin]], police charged through the attending crowd and arrested him. The crowd began to riot, resulting in two deaths, 200 arrests and numerous injuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/easterrising/prelude/pr05.shtml|title=	Dublin Lockout 1913|work=BBC History|access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref>

[[File:O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Buildings in Lower O'Connell Street, constructed between 1918 and 1923|alt=View upwards of street buildings with green-domed roofs]]
During the [[Easter Rising]] of 1916, [[Irish republicanism|Irish republicans]] seized the General Post Office and [[Proclamation of the Irish Republic|proclaimed]] the [[Irish Republic]], leading to the street's bombardment for a number of days by the [[Royal Navy]] gunboat [[LÉ Muirchú|HMY ''Helga'']] and several other artillery pieces which were brought up to fire on the north of the street.{{sfn|Casey|2005|pp=213–214}}{{sfn|Townshend|2006|p=191}} The thoroughfare also saw sustained small arms and sniper fire from surrounding areas. By Saturday, the rebels had been forced to abandon the GPO, which was burning, and held out in Moore Street until they surrendered.{{sfn|Wills|2009|p=83}}

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.{{sfn|Casey|2005|pp=213–214}}{{sfn|Griffith|2014|p=198-199}} In addition, during the chaos that accompanied the rebellion, the inhabitants of the nearby slums looted many of the shops on O'Connell Street.{{sfn|Wills|2009|p=49}} The events had a disastrous impact on the commercial life of the inner city, causing around £2.5 million worth of damage. Some businesses were closed up to 1923 or never reopened.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}}

In the immediate aftermath of the Rising, the destruction of the street resulted in the majority of major claims to the [[Property Losses (Ireland) Committee]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Daithí|last=Ó Corráin|url=https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2018/1010/1002263-how-the-1916-rising-cost-200m-in-compensation-claims|title=How the 1916 Rising cost €200m in compensation claims|work=RTÉ Brainstorm|date=12 October 2018|accessdate=30 November 2022}}</ref> The [[Dublin Reconstruction (Emergency Provisions) Act 1916]] was drafted with the aim of controlling the nature of reconstruction in the local area. The aim was to rebuild in a coherent and dignified fashion, using the opportunity to modernise the nature of commercial activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1916/aug/17/dublin-reconstruction-emergency|title=DUBLIN RECONSTRUCTION (EMERGENCY PROVISIONS) BILL|work=Hansard|date=17 August 1916|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref> Under the act, the city was to approve all construction and reject anything that would not fit with the street's character. The reconstruction was supervised and by City Architect [[Horace Tennyson O'Rourke|Horace T. O'Rourke]].{{sfn|McManus|2002|pp=70,73}} With the exception of its Sackville Street façade and portico, the General Post Office was destroyed.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=110}} A new GPO was subsequently built behind the 1818 façade.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=110}} Work began in 1924, 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.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=147-149}}

[[File:Clerys 12-10-2006.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|[[Clerys]] department store, ''(pictured in 2006)'' rebuilt in 1922|alt=View of department store building from the opposite side of the street]]
O'Connell Street saw another pitched battle in July 1922, [[Battle of Dublin|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]].{{sfn|Carey|2016|pp=20,24–25}} 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 car (military)|armoured cars]], to bombard the Republican-held buildings.{{sfn|Carey|2016|pp=17,28–29}} Among the casualties was [[Cathal Brugha]], shot at close range.{{sfn|Carey|2016|p=29}} 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. In total, around three-quarters of the properties on the street were destroyed or demolished between 1916 and 1922.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}} As a result, only one Georgian townhouse remains on the street into the 21st century.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=224}}

Because of the extensive destruction and rebuilding, most of the buildings on O'Connell Street date from the early 20th century. The only remaining original building still standing is No.&nbsp;42, which has been owned by the [[Royal Dublin Hotel]]{{sfn|Bennett|2005|pp=224–225}} since 1972. This house was originally the home of the State physician and professor of anatomy at [[Trinity College Dublin|Trinity College]], Robert Robinson and later Daniel O'Connell's Catholic Commercial Club.<ref name="42 O'Connell">{{cite web |title=Catholic Commercial Club, 42 O'Connell Street Upper, Dublin, Dublin City |url=https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/50010554/catholic-commercial-club-oconnell-street-upper-dublin-dublin-city |website=Buildings of Ireland |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref> The building dates from 1752 and was designed by [[Richard Cassels]]. There were plans to incorporate the house into the hotel to provide additional bars and function space in 1975 and 1978, but the work was never carried out. Permission was sought in 1982 to demolish the house, but this was refused.{{sfn|McDonald|1985|p=151}} Apart from the GPO building, other significant properties rebuilt after the hostilities include the department store [[Clerys]] which reopened in August 1922.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/ten-fascinating-facts-about-clerys-1.2247766|title=Ten fascinating facts about Clerys|newspaper=Irish Times|date=12 June 2015|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> and the Gresham Hotel which reopened in 1927.{{sfn|Carey|2016|p=64}}

==Regeneration==
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
 | image2 = O'Connell St., Dublin from Nelson's Pillar, 1964.jpg
 | alt2 = View from the pillar in 1964, looking north
 | width2 = 150
 | image1 = O'Connell Street from Nelson's Pillar in 1964.jpg
 | alt1 = View from the pillar in 1964, looking south
 | width1 = 150
 | footer = Views from the pillar in 1964, looking south (left) and north (right)
}}

Despite improvements to the street's architectural coherence between 1916 and 1922, the street has since suffered from a lack of planning.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}} Like much of Dublin of that time, property speculators and developers were allowed to construct what were widely accepted to be inappropriately designed buildings, often entailing the demolition of historic properties in spite of its Conservation Area status. [[Frank McDonald (journalist)|Frank McDonald]] dates the turn in the Street's fortune as the blowing up of Nelson's Pillar, contending that the loss of the pillar led to a decline in the character and overall cohesion of the area. The loss of the Pillar was also the loss of a significant landmark, a meeting place, and a popular tourist spot on the north side of the city.{{sfn|McDonald|1985|p=149}} Several Victorian and 1920s buildings were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the earliest examples was the demolition of two house facades by [[CIÉ]] in 1961 to make way for the passenger information bureau. The new structure has a glazed curtain wall with stained glass panels by [[Evie Hone]].{{sfn|McDonald|1985|p=13}} Another demolition was of Gilbey's at the northern end of the street.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dia.ie/works/view/37468/building/CO.+DUBLIN,+DUBLIN,+O'CONNELL+STREET+UPPER,+NO.+046-49+(GILBEY)|title=CO. DUBLIN, DUBLIN, O'CONNELL STREET UPPER, NO. 046-49 (GILBEY)|work=Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 – 1940|publisher=Irish Architectural Archive|date=13 October 2020}}</ref> This building featured a high Victorian [[Romanesque Revival architecture|romanesque]] facade, a porch, and a crested roof. It was demolished in March 1973, with two stone heads of Gladstone and Palmerston salvaged and set in above the new entrance. Originally designed as a mixed development with retail and offices, the entire building was rented by [[Dublin City Council]] from 1975, and then set out the ground floor as a sound-proofed council chamber.{{sfn|McDonald|1985|p=151-153}}

The Metropole and Capitol cinemas next to the GPO were demolished<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dublincity.ie/image/libraries/cin009-metropole|title=CIN009 Metropole|publisher=Dublin City Council|access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dublincity.ie/image/libraries/cin002-capitol|title=CIN002 Capitol|publisher=Dublin City Council|access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref> in 1973, McDonald noting this removed the central social hub of O'Connell Street. As well as being cinemas, the Capitol had lounges, meeting rooms, cafes and a restaurant, while the Metropole had a ballroom, restaurants and bars. The site was levelled and redeveloped for [[British Home Stores]].{{sfn|McDonald|1985|p=154}} It occupied the site, with [[Mothercare]] and [[Habitat (retailer)|Habitat]], until 1992 when it closed the store. It was then taken over by a branch of [[Primark|Penney's]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Retail chain's bumpy trading unlikely to affect Irish stores |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/retail-chain-s-bumpy-trading-unlikely-to-affect-irish-stores-1.193981 |access-date=27 October 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=9 June 1999 |language=en}}</ref> Findlater's grocer and wine merchant's premises on the corner of O'Connell Street and Cathal Brugha Street was demolished in 1972 and replaced with a five-storey office block with retail at ground level. This is among the newer buildings that disrupted the proportions that had been strictly enforced across the streetscape by O'Rourke during the reconstruction in the 1920s.{{sfn|McDonald|1985|p=153-154}}

Among the last intact Wide Streets Commission buildings on the street dating from the 1780s,{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=224}} numbers 40 and 41 were demolished in 1968 to make way for the Royal Dublin Hotel. Designed by Patrick Carr, it was the first hotel built in Dublin since the Gresham in the 1920s and opened in 1970. This hotel was in turn demolished after its closure in 2008 and has remained a vacant site. Along with the other vacant site beside the former [[Carlton Cinema, Dublin|Carlton Cinema]], and the Carlton itself have been part of a plan to develop the site as a large shopping centre that would connect with [[Moore Street]].<ref name="Kelly">{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Olivia |title=Last Georgian house on Dublin's O'Connell Street is at risk from neglect |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/last-georgian-house-on-dublin-s-o-connell-street-is-at-risk-from-neglect-1.3784304 |access-date=27 October 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=7 February 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The so-called "Carlton site" encompasses almost six acres facing onto O'Connell, Moore, Parnell and Henry Streets.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Kelly|first=Olivia|date=5 May 2019|title=Lipstick on a pig? Why Dublin has failed to pretty-up O'Connell Street|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/lipstick-on-a-pig-why-dublin-has-failed-to-pretty-up-o-connell-street-1.3881825|access-date=27 October 2020|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref> This vacant site immediately to the right of the Carlton was Gill's bookshop and a branch of Penney's until 1979 when it was purchased by the [[Bank of Ireland]]. Gill's was destroyed by fire while vacant and later collapsed in September 1979, leading to both buildings being levelled.{{sfn|McDonald|1985|p=153}}<ref name=":0" /> Many of the older buildings were replaced with fast-food restaurants, shops and offices, that continue to be the main features along O'Connell Street in the 21st century.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}}[[File:O'Connell Street.jpg|thumb|Upper O'Connell Street in 2022. |left]]The street was given attention with 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.{{sfn|Haddock|2010|p=140}}{{sfn|Carey|2016|p=275}} The plan was designed to go beyond simple cosmetic changes, and introduce control of the wider area beyond the street's buildings, including pedestrian and vehicle interaction, governance and preservation of architecture. Work on the plan was delayed, and reached approval in June 2003.{{sfn|Dublin|2009|p=2}}

The main features of the plan included the widening of footpaths and a reduction in road space, removing and replacing all trees, a new plaza in front of the GPO,<ref name=iap>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/olivia-kelly-why-can-t-we-save-o-connell-street-1.2386169|title=Why can't we save O'Connell Street?|newspaper=Irish Times|first=Olivia|last=Kelly|date=10 October 2015|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref> and new street furnishings including custom-designed lampposts, litter bins and retail kiosks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.steintec.co.uk/casestudies/oconnell-street/|title=O'Connell Street|work=Steintec|access-date=16 October 2020}}</ref> The plan included the [[Spire of Dublin]] project, Dublin's tallest sculpture; constructed between December 2002 and January 2003, occupying the site of Nelson's Pillar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com/the-story-behind-the-spire-of-dublin-oconnell-streets-iconic-landmark/|title=The story behind the Spire of Dublin, O'Connell Street's iconic landmark|first=Dan|last=O'Muirigh|work=Ireland Before You Die|date=13 November 2019|access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref> Numerous monuments were restored, including those of late 19th century Irish political leader [[Charles Stewart Parnell]], radical early 20th-century labour leader [[Jim Larkin]], prominent businessman and nationalist MP Sir John Grey,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/o-connell-street-statues-to-be-cleaned-in-300-000-programme-1.431792|title=O'Connell Street statues to be cleaned in €300,000 programme|newspaper=Irish Times|date=14 April 2005|access-date=16 October 2020}}</ref> 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 before being unveiled in May 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/restored-o-connell-monument-to-be-unveiled-1.1177744|title=Restored O'Connell monument to be unveiled|newspaper=Irish Times|date=23 May 2005|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>

All public domain works were completed in June 2006, finalising the principal objective of the IAP at a cost of €40 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.steintec.co.uk/casestudies/oconnell-street/|title=O'Connell Street|publisher=Steintec|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> The loss of mature trees during this work has been cited as exposing and further highlighting the issues with the streetscape.<ref name=":0" /> Work was disrupted by a [[2006 Dublin riots|riot]] centred on the street which erupted on 25 February 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4750576.stm|title=Officers injured in Dublin riot|work=BBC News|date=25 February 2006|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref>

O'Connell Street has been designated an Architectural Conservation Area and an Area of Special Planning Control.{{sfn|Dublin|2009|pp=2–3}} This means that no buildings can be altered without Dublin City Council's permission, and fast food outlets, takeaways, cafes and amusement arcades are strictly controlled.{{sfn|Dublin|2009|pp=3–5}}

In June 2015, Clerys suddenly closed after it was bought out by investment group Natrium Ltd, with the loss of over 400 jobs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/clerys-closes-doors-as-court-appoints-liquidators-1.2247754|title=Clerys closes doors as court appoints liquidators|newspaper=Irish Times|date=12 June 2015|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> In 2019, plans were announced to turn the premises into a four-star hotel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/work-to-begin-on-clerys-department-store-redevelopment-1.3770535|title=Work to begin on Clerys department store redevelopment|newspaper=Irish Times|date=25 January 2019|access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref>

The street is used as the main route of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/miriam-lord-a-parade-in-dublin-you-could-only-dream-about-1.4205401|title=Miriam Lord: A parade in Dublin you could only dream about|first=Miriam|last=Lord|date=17 March 2020|newspaper=Irish Times|access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref> and as the setting for the 1916 Commemoration every [[Easter Sunday]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/proclamation-gpo-defence-forces-easter-5073078-Apr2020/|title=Proclamation read out on empty O'Connell Street to mark the 104th anniversary of the Easter Rising|newspaper=The Journal|date=12 April 2020|access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref> It also serves as a major bus route artery through the city centre. The modern tram, [[Luas|the Luas]], has undergone an extension and trams now run once again through O'Connell Street. It only travels in one direction, the return loop, to link the system at [[St Stephen's Green|St. Stephen's Green]], runs via [[Marlborough Street, Dublin|Marlborough Street]], parallel with and east of O'Connell Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.luascrosscity.ie/re-think/fast-facts/|title=Luas Cross City}}</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
In his 1937 book ''"The Way That I Went"'', Irish [[naturalist]] [[Robert Lloyd Praeger]] noted that "undoubtedly the most interesting zoological feature that Dublin has to offer is the [[Wagtail]] roost on O'Connell Street".{{sfn|Praeger|1937|p=250}} Early in the winter of 1929, a number of [[pied wagtail]]s settled in a [[London plane]] tree on the north side of Nelson's Pillar. The next autumn, approximately two thousand of the same species of bird re-appeared, occupying three or four adjacent trees in the same area. Praeger noted that "...so large a colony in such apparently unsuitable surroundings is remarkable".{{sfn|Praeger|1937|p=251}}

==Statues==
{{anchor|Statues}}
[[File:Sir John Gray.JPG|thumb|upright|[[John Gray (Irish politician)|Sir John Gray]], designed by Thomas Farrell and erected in 1879|alt=View of stone statue from the ground looking upwards]]

Current and former monuments on O'Connell Street from south to north include:

[[Daniel O'Connell]]: designed and sculpted by [[John Henry Foley]] and completed by his assistant Thomas Brock. Construction began in 1866 and the monument was unveiled in 1883.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=219}}

[[William Smith O'Brien]]: 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.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=219}}

[[File:Memorial to Charles Parnell.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Parnell Monument at the north end of O'Connell Street|alt=View of marble monument with a state in front]]
[[John Gray (Irish politician)|Sir John Gray]]: by Thomas Farrell. Both the plinth and statue were carved entirely of white Sicilian marble, it was unveiled in 1879.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}} Gray was the proprietor of the ''[[Freeman's Journal]]'' newspaper and as a member of Dublin Corporation was responsible for the construction of the Dublin water supply system based on the [[Vartry Reservoir]].{{sfn|Curtis|2019|p=195}}

[[James Larkin]]: by [[Oisín Kelly]]. A bronze statue atop a Wicklow granite plinth,{{sfn|Doherty|2016|p=118}} the monument was unveiled in 1980.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}}

[[Anna Livia (monument)|Anna Livia]]: by [[Éamonn O'Doherty (sculptor)|Eamonn O'Doherty]]. Constructed in granite and unveiled on 17 June 1988, it became quickly known by its nickname "The Floosy in the Jacuzzi". It was removed in 2001 as part of the reconstruction plans for O'Connell Street and moved to the Croppies' Acre Memorial Park in 2011.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=225}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4641742.stm|title=New home for Dublin's 'Floozy'|work=BBC News|date=24 January 2006|access-date=17 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/dubliners-rejoyce-at-return-of-the-floozie-2555826.html|title=Dubliners re-Joyce at return of the Floozie |publisher=Irish Independent|date=25 February 2011|access-date=25 February 2011|author=Allison Bray}}</ref>

[[Nelson's Pillar]], a 36.8&nbsp;m (121&nbsp;ft) granite Doric column erected in 1808 in honour of [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Admiral Lord Nelson]], formerly stood at the centre of the street on the site of the present-day Spire of Dublin. Blown up by republican activists in 1966, the site remained vacant until the erection of the Spire in 2003.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|pp=94–95}}

[[Father Mathew|Father Theobald Mathew]]: by [[Mary Redmond]]. The foundation stone was laid in 1890, and the monument was unveiled in 1893. In 2016, the statue was removed to cater for the [[Luas]] tram extension to the north of the city.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/124-year-old-fr-mathew-statue-needs-a-new-home-due-to-luas-30778351.html|title=124-year-old Fr Mathew statue needs a new home due to Luas|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=26 November 2014|access-date=17 October 2020}}</ref> It was restored in 2018 to a new location near The Spire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishcatholic.com/warm-welcome-for-return-of-pioneering-priest/|title=Warm welcome for return of pioneering priest|work=The Irish Catholic|date=27 September 2018}}</ref>

[[Charles Stewart Parnell]]: ''Parnell Monument'' by Irish-American sculptor [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]]. The 37&nbsp;ft high obelisk sits on a Galway granite pylon, was organised by John Redmond and paid for through public subscription{{sfn|Doherty|2016|p=124}} and was unveiled in 1911 at the junction with Parnell Street, just south of Parnell Square.{{sfn|Casey|2005|p=220}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sgnhs.org/Augustus%20SGaudens%20CD-HTML/Monuments/PortraitsStatues/ParnellMonument.htm|title=Friends of Saint-Gaudens Memorial – Saint-Gaudens' works – Parnell Monument|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110606125217/http://www.sgnhs.org/Augustus%20SGaudens%20CD-HTML/Monuments/PortraitsStatues/ParnellMonument.htm |archive-date=6 June 2011 }}</ref>

{{Clear}}

==See also==
* [[2023 Dublin riot]]
* [[List of streets and squares in Dublin]]
* [[Streets and squares in Dublin]]

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
{{Refbegin}}
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* {{cite book|title=The Little Book of Rathmines|first=Maurice|last=Curtis|publisher=The History Press|year=2019|isbn=978-0-750-99023-3}}
* {{cite book|title=The Complete Guide to the Statues and Sculptures of Dublin City|first=Neal|last=Doherty|publisher=Orpen Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1-909895-72-0}}
* {{cite book|title=The Way That I Went|last=Praeger|first=Robert Lloyd|publisher=[[Methuen & Co. Ltd.]]|year=1937|isbn=978-1-898256-35-9|author-link= Robert Lloyd Praeger}}
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* {{cite book|title=The Destruction of Dublin|first=Frank|last=McDonald|publisher=Gill and MacMillan|year=1985|isbn=0-7171-1386-8}}
* {{cite book|title=Dublin, 1910-1940: Shaping the City & Suburbs|first=Ruth|last=McManus|publisher=Four Courts|year=2002|isbn=978-1-851-82615-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Osborough|first=W. N.|others= Irish Legal History Society|title=Law and the emergence of modern Dublin: a litigation topography for a capital city |publisher=Irish Academic Press in association with the Irish Legal History Society|year=1996|edition=illustrated|series=Irish Legal History Society History Series |volume=5|isbn=978-0-7165-2583-7}}
* {{cite book|title=Victorian Turkish baths|first=Malcolm|last=Shifrin|publisher=Historic England|year=2015|isbn=978-1-84802-230-0}}
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* {{cite book|title=Dublin 1916: The Siege of the GPO|first=Clair|last=Wills|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-674-03633-8}}
* {{cite report|url=http://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/Planning/OtherDevelopmentPlans/AreaActionPlans/Documents/O_Connell_St_ASPC_sept_09.pdf|title=Special Planning Control Scheme - O'Connell Street Architectural Conservation Area|publisher=Dublin City Council|date=September 2009|access-date=3 October 2020|ref={{harvid|Dublin|2009}}}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.manonbridge.ie/ Man On Bridge – O'Connell St. and Bridge photo archive 1930s–1980s]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051028123855/http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/northcity/oconnell_street/index.html Archiseek.com – Buildings of O'Connell Street]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120213160334/http://www.reflectingcity.com/2002/0402.htm ReflectingCity.com – O'Connell Street IAP]

{{Streets in Dublin city|state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'connell Street}}
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:O'Connell family]]
[[Category:Shopping districts and streets in Ireland]]
[[Category:Streets in Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Georgian architecture in Dublin (city)]]