Description
Freestanding granite obelisk and bronze statue of Charles Stewart Parnell, made 1899-1911, dated 1906, unveiled 1911, designed in neo-Classical Revival style by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens with assistance of architects Henry Bacon and George Sheridan. Located at north end of O'Connell Street on cobbled island site. Polished granite ashlar block construction to tapering obelisk set on raised pedestal with applied bronze decoration and panels naming counties of Ireland and abutted to south by projecting granite pedestal with bronze decoration and lettering naming provinces. Above pedestal is continuous carved festoon with bucrania to corners. South projecting pedestal supports figurative bronze statue of Parnell against draped table and outstretched arm. South face of obelisk has incised gilt lettering extracted from speech by Parnell with gold harp: 'To Charles Stewart Parnell. No Man has a right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation. No man has a right to say to his country "Thus far shalt thou go and no further". We have never attempted to fix the ne-plus-ultra to the progress of Ireland's nationhood and we never shall'. 'Go Soirbhighidh Dia Éirer dá chlainn'. Obelisk surmounted by decorative cusped capital supporting bronze tripod and eternal bronze flame. Monument stands on round traffic island with interlocking granite kerbing and cobbles protected by squat domed granite bollards.
Appraisal
Standing nineteen metres high, this monument caused controversy and mixed reactions when unveiled on 1st October 1911. Executed in the neo-Classical Revival style, an American influence brought by the Irish American sculptor, Augustus St-Gaudens. Commemorating the constitutional nationalist Parnell, the monument is of historic, artistic and national importance while adding to the varied collection of monuments that adorn the entire streetscape of Dublin's principal avenue and visible from many directions.