The Spike
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Are the Tai Chi guys there every morning or was it just this morning? It gave the whole thing a mystical feel.
Looks very impressive. I wish I worked in the city centre.Tai Chi …..aka The Falun Gong crowd are there every morning and your right it does give a new age religious feeling…..almost mystical, esoteric, etc.,,,,, Michael O Nuallain aka ‘bonkers’ on the radio now on Morning Ireland complaining about it but even he has admitted, biting tongue and all that it looks good, sounds pissed as well; members of public too are asked what they think of it…the replies are all favourable.
Here’s to the Spire….
I heard some ejit too has suggested calling it the Brian Boru Spire……oh dear!I can’t make it for 10. No fair! Should be a national holiday. Anyway it was looking great at dawn this morning. The finish is brilliant.
Watching the guys polishing the section on the ground with what looked like brasso, I noticed there’s a round side vent about 10cm diameter which protrudes a couple of cms. It’s located near the green tempory collar. You can see the collar at
http://www.fantasyjackpalance.com/fjp/photos/spike/spike-030115-14-tip-detail.jpg
Any ideas what it’s for? I guess I won’t be able to see it again anyway but I’m curious.
Also, I’ve heard theres to be a red aviation light on the tip. How whould this be mounted?
http://www.fantasyjackpalance.com/fjp/photos/spike/spike-030115-21-tip-detail.jpg
You’re right about the Tai Chi – there were tv lights behind them and they looked like statues sillouetted on the street. Like the famine memorial gone wrong. Wish I had a camera with me.
For any expats out there – 2fm (ryan show) are doing live coverage which should be available streaming on web.
Great, so it looks like it will definitely be finished today.
Thank heavens for this site. It appears to be the only source of info on the progress.RTE & Newspapers have dated info and worst of all Dublin City Council have no updates at all.
You’d think they could have put a webcam on the GPO or from Clery’s?
From Ireland.com
Dublin Spire to be completed this morning
Last updated: 21-01-03, 09:30The sixth and final section of the Dublin Spire is to be lifted into place this morning as engineers take advantage of the calm weather in the capital.
A spokeswoman for Dublin Ctiy Council said work would be completed at 10.00 a.m.
The Spire on O’Connell Street at daybreak this morning
The fourth and fifth sections were installed overnight after strong winds, which had hampered efforts to complete the job yesterday, eased.
When complete, the Spire will rise 120 metres from its two-metre-wide base opposite the GPO on O’Connell Street. This is seven times the height of the surrounding buildings and twice as high as the capital’s tallest building, Liberty Hall.
The first section was lowered into place by Europe’s biggest crane on December 18th. However, the break for Christmas holidays and intermittent high winds have slowed further progress.
The lowest section of the stainless steel monolith is swathed in a plastic covering, which will be removed when construction on securing the base is complete.
Passed close by this morning, and it looks great. Unfortunately you can barely see it from Ballsbridge at the moment. The crane stands out, but the spike get’s lost in the mist.
Did you notice how every news report suddenly started picking up on “Europe’s biggest crane” around the same time?
James
My secret shame, I was watching Questions & Answers last night, and suffice to say when the issue of the Spire arose, the usual hacks spun out the usual crap. Out of the 5 panelists & a 60 person audience, the grand total of 1 proclaimed to be in favour of the project. Comments included the usual:
“We could fund 40 hospital beds with 4 million”
“Disgraceful expenditure of public funds when people are homeless in the streets”
“At a time of cutbacks, to be spending this amount…”
“It dosn’t even connect with the people with a basic viewing platform”
And blah blah blah blah blah.
The only opposing view came from presenter John Bowman!, who suggested that we sell all the paintings in the National Gallery and spend the funds on the Health Service, at which point everyone became strangely meek…..
Good man John Bowman! And I’m sure the same sceptical folk interact with those painting on a daily basis themselves. Point well made.
And as for the question of building something that people can climb up upon and view the city …
having it as a viewing tower would be terrible in my opinion.
1. Do we really want huge queues all day down O Connell Street. Not a good idea, especially with tram queues, a non-pedestrianed street, and the retail tenants.
2. Tawdry stalls hawking awful replicas, ashtrays and tshirts to queuers.
3. Theres feck all to see apart from the Dublin Mountains. And you can see them better by going to Sally Gap.some audio reports here from RTE
http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0121/spire.htmlwe already have a viewing tower- the Smithfield chimney, or the guinness sky lounge.
wanting to ascend the spire is a little primative.
Dublin has two viewing towers already.. Jameson’s and Guinness, these do the job.
I think putting one up in the middle of O’Connell Street would have been very passé
how come there wasnt the same amount of outrage when the 20% social housing scheme was scrapped?????…
Because we are a nation of small minded folk who care when it suits us – if you want to solve the crisis in health/homeless etc etc you will have to pay more tax.
And you try finding out who wants less money to take home….
looks like the baby crane has started moving
http://www.ireland.com/weather/cam.htmOne of the best views of the Spire is from outside Easons looking north (towards it). It’s starkly modern, sleek and unadorned profile contrasts spectacularly with the exquiste detailed frieze and fluted columns of the GPO, the overall vertical emphasis being particularly stunning, esp in the dazzling sunshine, which highlights the stone relief.
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