Newspaper Poster

Liam C. Martin’s illustration depicts the destruction of Nelson's Pillar, showing the aftermath of the bomb explosion, which blew-up at 2am on 8 March 1966. It was displayed at the front of news-stands after the event to sell newspapers.

Nelson's Pillar was one of Dublin's most famous landmarks. It was a large monument and viewing platform located on Sackville Street, now O'Connell Street, in Dublin City. 110ft high, the foundation stone was laid in 1808 at a cost of £7,000, which was raised by subscription. The Pillar commemorates Admiral Horatio Nelson's victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Nelson never visited Dublin, yet the city's aldermen erected the pillar in Dublin, years before London's Nelson's Column of 1843.

The Nelson monument was controversial from the start. For some, the monument was a contentious symbol of British rule in Ireland. Before its destruction, several Corporation Bills were introduced requesting the removal of Nelson's Pillar. There were proposals for the pillar's removal in the 1920s and 1930s, which never transpired. At a meeting of Dublin Corporation in 1954, the possibility of removing Nelson's Pillar was debated.

The planting of the explosive device in 1966 was not carried out by the IRA per se, but rather an offshoot known as the 'Christle Group'. No one was ever charged with blowing up the pillar. A week after the explosion, the remainder of the pillar was blown up by a controlled demolition carried out by the Irish army.

Object number: HA:2002.18

More information:
Boetcher, D. N. (2020). Iconoclasm and Response on Dublin’s Sackville/O’Connell Street, 1759–2003. City, 24(3-4), 594-604.
O'Brien, A. (2007). The History of Nelson's Pillar. Dublin Historical Record, 60(1), 15-23.