Photographs taken from atop Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin by Fermoy resident Pat Conroy in 1962, four years before it was blown up by a group of former IRA volunteers on March 8th 1966.
No one was hurt in the incident, and six days after the initial explosion the Irish Army blew up the rest of the pillar after judging that the structure was too unsafe to restore. The planned demolition caused more destruction on O’Connell Street than the original blast, breaking many windows in the vicinity.
Nelson’s pillar, named after Horatio Nelson, had watched over the city between 1809 and 1966. The Spire of Dublin was officially unveiled in its place in 2003.
