Replace the Spire with a statue of Pearse

The 50th anniversary of the fall of Nelson’s Pillar on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, coming as it does on the centenary of the Easter Rising, provides a timely opportunity to replace the non-descript Spire, which currently occupies the former ground of the once-famous pillar.

We need a rebuilt pillar but this time with a patriot of Ireland and an enabler of Irish freedom standing atop a new stone edifice.

Putting the founding father of the Republic, Padraig Pearse (to whom Dublin city centre is remiss in not having a major statue in honour of), where a champion of the British Empire once stood, would be a suitable way to mark the centenary of Irish independence.