Statues are on the move to make way for the Metro
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Talks are underway to have statues such as the Daniel O'Connell one, put on display in the National Museum during construction of the Metro North rail line.
Monday August 10 2009
Dubliners will get the chance to have a close encounter with Daniel O'Connell and other iconic city statues under plans by Metro North bosses.
Talks are under way to have the monuments placed on public display at the National Museum rather than put in storage during construction.
Under the proposal, O'Connell and three other famous statues would be removed from their pedestals and placed at ground level at Collins Barracks.
For a few years, locals and visitors would get a brand new ground-level perspective on Jim Larkin, John Grey and William Smith O'Brien.
"We are in discussions with the National Museum of Ireland and would like to put them on display there," a Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) spokesman said.
"It would be a unique opportunity to let Dubliners have a close-up look at these statues."
The museum -- probably its grounds -- would be the new home of the O'Connell monument for about four years.
The other statues would be relocated for a shorter period.
Underground
They are unlikely to move until late next year or early 2011 because of Metro North's lengthy planning stage.
A railway order -- the equivalent of planning permission -- must be agreed by An Bord Pleanala.
The O'Connell statue's removal will facilitate the building of an underground stop below the River Liffey. Two holes will have to be opened -- one at Lower O'Connell Street and the other at Westmoreland Street -- to allow access to the stop.
Other statues from St Stephen's Green -- including Robert Emmet -- will also have to be removed, while the fusiliers' arch will be able to remain in place. The Spire on O'Connell Street will also stay where it is.
Meanwhile, the memorial to fallen police hero Constable Padraic Sheahan, who died trying to save a workman in a gas accident in 1905, will have to be moved permanently to make way for a new Luas road bridge between Hawkins Street and Marlborough Street.
aphelan@herald.ie
- Andrew Phelan
