Spire

Lonely Planet review

Soaring 120m over O'Connell St - and the rest of the city - this gigantic needle is impossible to miss, a risqué homage to the fight against one of Dublin's greatest social ills, heroin addiction. Yeah, right. Dubs excel at gallows humour, but the Spire is neither a joke nor a commemoration of anything in particular, except maybe the notion that for a spell in the 1990s the sky was the limit.

But it's not just an ornament; it is apparently the highest sculpture in the world and, sarcasm aside, it's a hugely impressive feat of architectural engineering. From a base of only 3m in diameter, it soars more than 120m into the sky and tapers into a 15cm-wide beam of light. It was the brainchild of London-based architect Ian Ritchie and is meant to be the centrepiece in a programme aimed at regenerating O'Connell St. And, for no reason other than it's tall and shiny, it actually does the trick rather nicely. Which doesn't stop Dubs making fun of it, calling it - among other names - the 'erection in the intersection', the 'stiletto in the ghetto' and the altogether brilliant 'eyeful tower'. When indicating that something isn't likely, some locals have taken to suggesting there was a better chance of 'Bertie Ahern shimmying bollock-naked up the Spire'.