O'Connell Street: The History and Life of Dublin's Iconic Street, Nicola Pierce

O'Connell Street is at the heart of Dublin. It has been through name changes and revolutions, destruction and rebuilding and remained at the heart of the story of Ireland for centuries. Nicola Pierce explores the people, the history, the buildings and the stories behind the main street in our capital city.

Packed with stories of the people connected to the streets, from the subjects of the statues, to the sculptors that created them, from those who owned and developed the street since the days of St Mary’s Abbey in 1147, to those who worked and lived there through the centuries and all the drama and scandals that went on both on the street and behind closed doors.

O'Connell Street will also feature more personal, anecdotal stories of the cinemas, meeting under Clery’s clock, buying engagement rings at The Happy Ring House, witnessing motorcades such as the Apollo XIII coming down the street, the heyday of film stars staying at the Gresham, and scandals and murders on the street.

Table of Contents

Author’s Note page 9

1 A Brief Summary 13

2 STATUES AND MONUMENTS 37

Daniel O’Connell 37

William Smith O’Brien 46

Sir John Gray 49

Father Theobald Mathew 52

Charles Stewart Parnell 56

James Larkin 62

The Spire of Dublin 66

Anna Livia Plurabelle 68

James Joyce 70

Patrick Sheahan 72

Nelson’s Pillar 75

Death of Cú Chulainn 86

Fidelity, Hibernia, and Mercury 88

3 LANDMARK BUILDINGS 91

The Gate Theatre (Nearby O’Connell Street) 91

The Rotunda 96

Abbey (Findlater’s) Church 101

Clerys Department Store 106

Eason 119

The General Post Office (GPO) 130

The Gresham Hotel 141

The Happy Ring House 153

4 THE CINEMAS 161

The Savoy 161

The Carlton 167

The Metropole Cinema and Restaurant 169

The Grand Central Cinema 174

La Scala Theatre and Opera House 174 The Capitol 177

The Ambassador 178

5 O’CONNELL STREET BRIDGE 183

6 MURDER AND MAYHEM ON O’CONNELL STREET 201

August 1854 201

Sunday, 31 August 1913 202

Monday, 24 April 1916 206

Sunday, 21 November 1920 208

Wednesday, 5 July 1922 212

Friday, 17 May 1974 214

7 GATHERINGS ON O’CONNELL STREET 217

St Patrick’s Day Parade 217

Celebrity Motorcades 224

American Presidents 232

Funeral Processions 239

Afterword 257

Bibliography 260

Index