ON THIS DAY in 1966 Nelson’s Pillar, the 121 foot high column that stood tall in Dublin’s O’Connell Street was blown up by the IRA.

No one was hurt in the explosion, but many people remember and tell stories about where they were when the bomb exploded.

The front page of the Irish Times on 8 March 1966 read:

The top of Nelson Pillar, in O’Connell street, Dublin, was blown off by a tremendous explosion at 1.32 o’clock this morning and the Nelson statue and tons of rubble poured down into the roadway.

By a miracle, nobody was injured, though there were a number of people in the area at the time.

Sackville Street

The pillar was first erected in the capital’s main thoroughfare in 1808, dedicated to navy man, Admiral Lord Nelson. The pillar commemorated Admiral Nelson’s victories at sea.

On top of the column stood a 13 foot high statue of Nelson.

The Millennium Spire, completed in 2003, now stands in the same spot that Nelson’s pillar once did. The monument stands at over 395 feet.