Spire of Dublin

The Spire of Dublin, also called the Monument of Light, is a stainless steel pin shaped monument on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland, standing on the site of Nelson's Pillar, which was destroyed in 1966. Architect Ian Ritchie designed the spire, seeking what he described as an elegant and dynamic simplicity bridging art and technology, with the structural engineering firm Arup providing tuned mass dampers to counter sway across its eight hollow stainless steel cone sections, which together weigh over 133 tonnes. Built between 2002 and its completion on 21 January 2003, the monument rises 120 meters from a base 3 meters across that tapers to just 15 centimeters at its tip, making it a prominent vertical landmark of Dublin's millennium era, even as critics have questioned its relevance to the city's older architectural heritage.