In the 1990s, plans were launched to improve the streetscape. The Anna Livia monument was installed on the site for the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations. O'Connell Street had been in decline for a number of reasons such as the proliferation of fast-food restaurants and the opening of bargain shops using cheap plastic shop fronts which were unattractive and obtrusive the existence of derelict sites and the destruction in 1966 of Nelson's Pillar following a bombing by former IRA members. The monument was commissioned as part of a street layout redesign in 1999. Nelson's Pillar stood on the site of the Spire until it was destroyed by a bomb in 1966. ДЄt dusk, the base of the monument is lit and the top 10В m (33В ft) is illuminated through 11,884 holes through which light-emitting diodes shine. The design around the 10В m (33В ft) lower part of the Spire was created by the architects making a 3D pattern model combining the core sample and double helix and then digitally translated to a 2D image drawing supplied to the contractor and used by specialists for cutting the masking material. The pattern was applied by bead blasting the steel through rubber stencil masks whose patterns were created by water jet cutting based on core sample drawings supplied by the contractor. The pattern around the base of the Spire is based on a core sample of rock formation taken from the ground where the spire stands and the DNA double helix. The steel underwent shot peening to alter the quality of light reflected from it. It features two tuned mass dampers, designed by engineers Arup, to counteract sway. It is an elongated cone of diameter 3В m (9.8В ft) at the base, narrowing to 15В cm (5.9В in) at the top. The Spire consists of eight hollow stainless steel cone sections, the longest being 20В m (66В ft), which were installed on 21 January 2003. Construction of the sculpture was delayed because of difficulty in obtaining planning permission and environmental regulations. The first section was installed on 18 December 2002.

The contract was awarded to SIAC-Radley JV and it was manufactured by Radley Engineering of Dungarvan, County Waterford, and erected by SIAC Construction Ltd & GDW Engineering Ltd.

The spire was designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, who sought an 'Elegant and dynamic simplicity bridging art and technology'.

Ireland spire