Wellington Monument, Dublin

For other monuments to Wellington, see Wellington Monument (disambiguation).

The Wellington Monument is an obelisk in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland. It is also called "Wellington Testimonial" because it was built while Wellington was still alive.

The monument is in the southeast of the Park. It is near Kilmainham and the River Liffey. The obelisk is 62 metres (203 ft) tall. It is the largest obelisk in Europe.

History

Wellington Testimonial

The monument was built to celebrate the victories of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. He was born in Dublin.^[1][2]

It was designed by the architect Sir Robert Smirke. Building was started in 1817. In 1820 they ran out of money. It was not finished until 1861 when it was opened to the public. There were also plans for a statue of Wellesley on a horse ^[3] in front of it. This was never built.

Features of the Testimonial

There are four bronze plaques on the bottom part of the monument. Three have pictures about Wellington's career, the fourth has text. The pictures are 'Civil and Religious Liberty' by John Hogan, 'Waterloo' by Thomas Farrell and the 'Indian Wars' by Joseph Robinson Kirk. The text reads:

Asia and Europe, saved by thee, proclaim

Invincible in war thy deathless name,

Now round thy brow the civic oak we twine

That every earthly glory may be thine.