b'RelationswiththeU.Khaveneverbeen particularly cordial as demonstrated in 1966 by the blowing up of Nelsons Pillar, a large granite column topped by a statue of Horatio Nelson built in the centre of what was then Sackville Street(laterrenamedOConnellStreet),a loathedsymbolofBritainsarrogance.The Irish,blessthem,replacedthecontentious monumentwithafourmillionpound,120 meter tall stainless steel spike that now rises in the centre of the city symbolizing, well, no one is entirely sure. However, this structure has attracted some wonderful nicknames; the Spire in Mire or the Stiletto in the Ghetto.Irelandsmostprestigiousuniversity,Trinity College, is a wonderful, 16th-century walled bucolic retreat right in the heart of the city. Ambling about its cobbled squares, its easy for one to imagine all those men, for they were only men until 1904, who came equipped with a passion for philosophy, letters and science and an endearing love of Ireland. The walk to the college is delightful as many of the streets are peppered with statues of some of its most prestigiouswriters:SamuelBeckett,James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W.B Yeats seem to greet you at every corner.20AUTUMN2020'