Dublin Erections

Um...from the outset, let me state that I am indebted to the poor sods over at Wikipedia, from whom I will be nicking pictures and possibly chunks of text..

So first up on the chopping block is Daniel O'Connell...who has most likely got the biggest statue in Dublin, but not the biggest erection (I promise I will clarify one of these days).

O'Connell was basically our version of Martin Luther King Jr, only he was a fat, wealthy Irish Catholic who didn't get nearly as much done over a much longer period of time.
Fan-tastic.
Anyways, he was very popular in Ireland when he got the EmancipationAct passed in 1829, which gave Irish Catholics the right to sit in Parliament, and as anyone who sees the self serving parochial shower in Leinster House these days will note, that was-in hindsight-quite an atrocious thing to do.

But he was very popular for doing this so in 1864 he got a big statue on Dublin's main thoroughfare, Sackville St, which was later re-named after him in addition to the bridge it meets at the river Liffey. It is one big motherfucking statue, let me tell you. To quote Archiseek, it's

"...in three parts, surmounted by the figure of O'Connell. The base is heavy
limestone with four winged figures representing Patriotism, Fidelity, Courage
and Eloquence. Above this is a drum surrounded by figures representing
O'Connell's labours and triumphs."

Yeah, the bottom has the four big angel-type figures, who are great for climbing on and pretending that you're really small..then above that is all the more lifesize statues representing, among others, the Church, various industries etc, and Ireland herself (who you can see pointing up at O'Connell), presumably laying the blame on him for getting us Irish so exercised about politics..an infliction we carry with us to this day.

It's..quite a nice monument, big and pompous and well suited to its location at the bottom of O'Connell St. But its a bit drab to be honest, and O'Connell's head is regularily covered in birdshit-something I've mentioned in a previous life. For some inexplicable reason, every bird in the Greater Dublin Area feels honour-bound to relieve themselves on the poor bastard's head.

I'm also bound by tradition to relate to you the fact that Danny Boy up the top is wearing two coats-one on top of the other. Local explanations for this include the fact that he's standing by the river and needs the layers to ward off see breezes coming up along the quays or that the sculptor forsaw the anti-O'Connell feelings of the local pigeons and seagulls and added the extra top to shield the poor man's clothes from run off from his head.
Like I said, poor bastard.

This is where I clarify that I am only talking about statues, so could the perverts please leave the room?

It was suggested to a friend of mine over at Geared Up that a site detailing the many varied and wonderful statues, sculptures, monuments and effigies of the Fair City was lacking.. Blindly believing him, I decided to go along with this!

Perfect timing, as I'm sure you'll all agree, what with my exams in about 3 wks time.

Well, enjoy the rush and I'll catch you on the flipside. All suggestions for statues to cover in this little corner of cyberspace are welcome!

Fergal