O'Connell Street
The 600-metre boulevard where modern Ireland was argued over in bronze, stone, and gunfire.
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Dublin's central spine has been renamed twice and fought over repeatedly — the 1916 Easter Rising, the 1922 Civil War, and the 1966 destruction of Nelson's Pillar all played out here. Its wide central pathway, laid out by the Wide Streets Commission in the late 18th century, is lined with statues and monuments that compress centuries of contested Irish identity into a single walk.
What to look for
- The Daniel O'Connell statue by sculptor John Henry Foley at the southern end, facing O'Connell Bridge — the man who gave the street its 1924 name
- The Spire of Dublin on the central pathway, one of several monuments along the street that also witnessed the destruction of Nelson's Pillar in 1966
- James Larkin's statue, honouring the trade union leader whose 1913 Dublin lock-out drew crowds to this street
Two Luas tram stops serve the street (O'Connell GPO and O'Connell Upper), and Dublin Bus cross-city routes stop along both carriageways.
O'Connell Street is one of 35 sights worth the detour in Dublin, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Dublin pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Dublin
- Aviva StadiumOne 51,711-seat bowl jointly owned by rugby and football — two governing bodies, one ground, no separate home for either.
- Dublin CastleThe river that gave Dublin its name still flows beneath your feet — and the building above it ran Ireland for 750 years.
- Croke ParkThe fourth-largest stadium in Europe holds 82,300 people — almost entirely for sports most of the world has never watched.
- National Library of IrelandIreland's paper memory — manuscripts, photographs, and newspapers free to open on the spot.
- St Patrick's CathedralIreland's national cathedral has never had a bishop — that role belongs to the rival church 400 metres up the road.
- Spire of DublinA 120-metre stainless-steel pin planted on the exact spot where an IRA bomb in 1966 — and a controlled demolition six days later — erased Nelson's Pillar.