Ireland’s tallest tower reopens to public
DUBLIN — Ireland’s O’Connell Tower reopened to the public on Saturday after it closed 47 years ago following a bomb attack whose perpetrator has still not been officially identified.
Hundreds of tourists, both local and foreign, were seen coming in from different corners of the city to visit the tower on the first day of its reopening to the public.
Located in the north of Dublin city, the tower was built in 1855 in memory of Daniel O’Connell, one of the greatest political figures in the first half of the 19th century in Ireland, who was most famous for his fight for the equal political and civil rights of Catholics in the country.
O’Connell, born in 1775, died in Italy in 1847 while on a pilgrimage to Rome. According to his wish, his heart was buried in Rome while the rest of his remains were buried in a coffin placed at the base of the tower.
Measuring 55 meters in height, the cylindrical tower, which was built with stones, is the tallest of its kind in Ireland and provides a 360-degree view of Dublin city and its neighboring counties of Wicklow and Meath.
The four windows at the top of the tower make it one of the greatest attractions for tourists in the country.
However, in 1971, a huge bomb containing 10 pounds of gelignite hit the base of the tower, causing structural damage and destroying the interior staircase.
The explosion was blamed on loyalist paramilitaries from Northern Ireland, but it has never been officially confirmed who really conducted the attack, said officials in charge of the maintenance of the tower.
In 2016, Glasnevin Trust, the largest funeral services provider in Ireland, which also runs Glasnevin Cemetery among others, started the work to restore the destroyed staircase that leads to the top of the tower.
Officials with Glasnevin Cemetery said the destroyed staircase has been restored strictly according to what it looked like in the past.
Made of wrought iron, the spiral staircase consists of 198 hand-carved wooden steps ascending to the top of the tower with 6 landing platforms.
With the reinstatement of the staircase, the cemetery expects to make the tower once again a famous tourist destination in Dublin.