Symbolising the state— the iconography of O'Connell Street and environs after independence (1922)

Abstract

This paper explores the iconography of Dublin's central thoroughfare, O'Connell Street and its immediate environs in the decades following the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. It follows an earlier paper which examined the iconography of Sackville Street before Independence and turns the focus towards an analysis of the ways in which the street became a significant site for the cultural inscription of post-colonial national identity. It is argued that the erection of new monuments dedicated to the commemoration of the 1916 Rising, as well as the destruction of older imperial symbols, rendered visible the emergence of the newly independent Irish Free State. The paper charts this process of iconographical inscription but also argues that O'Connell Street as a totality has taken on greater symbolic significance than any of the monuments that line its centre. In conclusion the paper examines the contemporary iconography of the street and addresses the apparent transition from political sculpture to public art which has taken place in recent decades throughout the city.