The Pillar: The Life and Afterlife of the Nelson Pillar
The Pillar: The Life and Afterlife of the Nelson Pillar
by Donal Fallon
'Told with an eye to history, but an ear for the absurd, Fallon's is an amusing take on the very colourful story of the spot that today hosts the Millennium Spire. Peppered with extracts from contemporary accounts of events, and witty rhymes typical of the city at that time, the book offers a concise insight into a Dublin that has since vanished.' - Irish Mail on Sunday
C-format, paperback | 256pp | ISBN: 978-1-84840-326-0 | Release Date: May 2014
No monument in the history of Ireland has proven quite as controversial as the Nelson Pillar on O'Connell Street. Erected in the early 19th century, the column in honour of Admiral Horatio Nelson was ultimately blown to pieces by a bomb in 1966, planted by members of a left-wing republican faction. The story of the Pillar and its location involves many famous Dublin names and characters, from Arthur Guinness to James Joyce, and WB Yeats to The Dubliners. This book examines the life of the Nelson Pillar site, looking at what was there before the monument as well as the afterlife of the Pillar, and brings the story right up to its eventual replacement with the Spire of Light.
Reviews:
“Told with an eye to history, but an ear for the absurd, Fallon’s is an amusing take on the very colourful story of the spot that today hosts the Millennium Spire. Peppered with extracts from contemporary accounts of events, and witty rhymes typical of the city at that time, the book offers a concise insight into a Dublin that has since vanished.”
“The history and fate of Nelson’s head and of the rest of him has now been deftly explored in an entertainingly informative new book, The Pillar: The Life and Afterlife of Nelson’s Pillar, by the respected historian Donal Fallon.”
