Dublin’s Spire in the running for award

THE country’s most controversial sculpture may still needle some critics but it can aspire to international greatness after being shortlisted for a prestigious architectural award.

First, however, the Spire on Dublin's O'Connell Street will have to do battle with a space monster, a giant pickle and a superschool that apparently turned young louts into Bill Gates wannabes.

The Spire is one of just six colourful creations from around the world to make the shortlist for the Royal Institute of British Architects' premier prize, the Riba Stirling, the winner of which will be announced next month.

So highly regarded is the award, which originally had almost 70 contenders, that it will be presented live on television on Channel 4 following a gala dinner at which the captivating constructions will be represented by their respective creators.

Welsh architect Ian Ritchie will be there to pick up the gong for the Spire if it should triumph on the night. He will also pick up the £20,000stg (€29,268.80) award money that goes with it.

Dublin City Council, which initiated the €4.6 million Spire as a millennium project aimed at finding a replacement for the long-gone Nelson's Pillar, are delighted with the sculpture's success.

Despite missing the millennium and encountering a planning appeal, a judicial review, and more jibes than would be aired at a Dublin-Kerry showdown in Croke Park, the Spire has been vindicated by an ever-present crowd of admirers.

"No matter when you pass by, there are always people looking up at it up," said a spokeswoman. "Whether they are thinking 'wow' or 'ugh', you can't always say but at least they are thinking about it and the amount of positive feedback we get on email about it makes us happy that we've got something people really like."

At 120 metres high, the Spire is the tallest free-standing sculpture in the world and, with a super-slender structure that narrows from three metres at ground level to just 15 cm at the tip, it is also one of the most sophisticated in engineering terms.

Cast in separate sections outside of Dublin, the Spire was pieced together over a two-month period at the end of 2002 and start of 2003, while its trademark tip-top light was finally switched on in July last year.

The ongoing cost of cleaning and maintenance continues to cause gripes, and Dublin City Council have had to stave off a series of claims that it is rusting, swaying or falling down. Last Monday they also hit a blip when the lights went out a glitch attributed to condensation on cables.

"Some cables had got wet but they dried out and the problem rectified itself. The blackout only lasted two hours," said the council's spokeswoman. They're hoping the warm glow of fame will last a lot longer.