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.



Nicola Pierce published her first novel, Spirit of the Titanic, to rave reviews and five printings within its first twelve months. She went on to bring her knowledge of this great ship, and all who sailed in her, to a non-fiction work: Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew and Legacy. To read more about Nicola, go to her web page, www.nicolapiercewriter.com.



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



a fascinating tour of the street in the company of historian Nicola Pierce



anyone with time and inclination to walk it [O'Connell Street] with this book in hand has a whole series of excursions to enjoy



a fascinating read and gorgeous, gorgeous imagery



sweeping in its coverage … a really, really good book



Nicola Pierce … author and an authority on the history of the statues on [O'Connell St]



author Nicola Pierce offered an illuminating selection of genesis stories for some of the many statues that line the street's central reservation