The Spire of Dublin is the brainchild of London-based firm, Ian Ritchie Architects. It is a needle-like sculpture that won the O'Connell Street Monument competition, organised for Dublin City Council by The Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland.
One hundred and twenty metres high and three metres in diameter at its base, The Spire is seven times the height of the nearby G.P.O and twice as high as Liberty Hall, Dublin's original "skyscraper". The monument rises above Dublin's skyline and O'Connell Street, the city's main thoroughfare.
From its base up to about 10m the stainless steel is polished to provide a slightly higher reflective surface than the remainder of The Spire.
15cm in diameter at the apex, the monument's tip can sway up to a maximum of 1.5m under extreme winds. To prevent it swaying more than this, a special damper weighing 2 tonnes, is situated inside the construction and held in position by hydraulic pistons.
The base of The Spire is gently lit and the top 12 metres are illuminated to the tip providing a beacon in the night sky over the capital.

A 140m crane (one of the largest ever assembled in Europe) was erected to assemble The Spire.
The first section of the monument was lowered into place on December 18th 2002. With high winds hampering progress, it took until January 21st 2003 for the erection to be completed.