Dublin, Ireland location and directions map : O'Connell Street Bridge - Dublin, you can CLICK and DRAG on the map.

The street was known as Sackville Street until 1924 when it was renamed O'Connell Street after Daniel O'Connell, the great nationalist leader of the early 19th century.

The construction of a bridge over the river Liffey made the street important over other streets in the area. The first bridge, the Carlisle Bridge, was built in 1794. It was replaced in 1880 by the present O'Connell Bridge.

The G.P.O. is the building which dominates the centre of the street. It was from the steps of this building that Padraig Pearse read the Proclamation of Independence in 1916 and the building was the main centre of the revolt. Consequently, the inside was very badly damaged. It had only just recovered when the Civil War broke out and the street was the venue for another battle. Much of the eastern side of the building was completely destroyed by a fire. Bullet marks can still be seen on the walls of the building from that turbulent period.     

The street contains three statues. At the northern end of the street is a statue of Charles Stewart Parnell, known as the uncrowned King of Ireland. The statue at the southern end is a statue of Daniel O'Connell, who successfully and peacefully led the movement to achieve Catholic Emancipation. Half way between these two you have the fountain figure, Anna Livia, nicknamed the ' floozy in the jacuzzi.' (according to the city tour guides!)

Today O'Connell Street has everything from fast-food joints to expensive restaurants and from small boutiques to big department stores.

There are a range of improvements under way (Jan 2002) including:

Creating a dramatic new space in front of the GPO
Removing one lane of traffic from each side of the street 
Providing a major new feature on the site of Nelson Pillar
Improvements for pedestrians in the adjoining Westmoreland and D'Olier Streets as well as Parnell Square
A new pedestrian route from College Street to Marlborough Street via Hawkins Street and a new pedestrian bridge across the Liffey

It is also intended to introduce other improvements such as the upgrading of poor quality buildings and shopfronts, the construction of buildings on vacant sites and the reduction of car parking in locations such as Parnell Square.

In the long run it is hoped for the removal of traffic from the entire stretch of road from Parnell Square to Grafton Street. However, this can only happen once all of the changes proposed in the Dublin Transportation Intitiative's strategy have been implemented. 

VR Photography © Red Door VR Limited.

Panoramic view photographed in 2001, page published: 8/3/08 18:35:44 File Size: 356.6 KB

Equipment: Virtual Tour produced with Panoramic Hardware and Software supplied by Red Door VR Limited, UK

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