The Fusiliers' Arch is a monument which forms part of the Grafton Street entrance to St Stephen's Green park, in Dublin, Ireland. Erected in 1907, it was dedicated to the officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted men of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who fought and died in the Second Boer War (1899–1902).
Áirse na bhFiúsailéirí[1] | |
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53°20′23″N 6°15′38″W / 53.33965°N 6.26052°W | |
Location | Northwest corner of St Stephen's Green, Dublin |
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Designer | John Howard Pentland, Thomas Drew |
Type | Memorial arch |
Material | Granite, limestone, bronze |
Height | 9.9 metres (32 ft) |
Completion date | 1907 |
Dedicated to | Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died in the Second Boer War |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Fusiliers_Arch_looking_out_of_St_Stephens_Green.jpg/170px-Fusiliers_Arch_looking_out_of_St_Stephens_Green.jpg)
Construction
Funded by public subscription, the arch was designed by John Howard Pentland and built by Henry Laverty and Sons.[2] Thomas Drew consulted on the design and construction.[2]
The proportions of the structure are said to be modelled on the Arch of Titus in Rome.[3] It is approximately 8.5 m (28 ft) wide and 10 m (33 ft) high.[4][5][6] The internal dimensions of the arch are 5.6 m high and approximately 3.7 m wide (18 by 12 ft).[4][7]
The main structure of the arch is granite, with the inscriptions carried out in limestone and a bronze adornment on the front of the arch.[8]
Dedication and reception
The arch was commissioned to commemorate the four battalions (two regular and two militia) of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers that served in the Second Boer war.[7][9] The names of 222 dead are inscribed on the underside of the arch.[10][4]
The construction of the arch coincided with a time of political and social change in Ireland, and the colonial and imperial background to the dedication were anathema to a burgeoning nationalist movement – who labelled the structure "Traitor's Gate".[11][12][13] Though damaged in a cross-fire between the Irish Citizen Army and British forces during the 1916 Easter Rising,[10][14] the arch remains "one of the few colonialist monuments in Dublin not blown up" in Ireland's post-independence history.[11][13]
Text
Engraved on the western face is the Latin text, Fortissimis suis militibus hoc monumentum Eblana dedicavit MCMVII, "To its strongest soldiers, Dublin dedicates this monument, 1907." (Eblana is a name that appears on Ptolemy's 2nd century AD map of Ireland, traditionally taken as a Latin name for Dublin, although it more likely refers to a site further north, around Loughshinny.) Six battlefields are inscribed on the arch:
- Talana: Battle of Talana Hill, 20 October 1899
- Ladysmith: Battle of Ladysmith, 30 October 1899
- Colenso: Battle of Colenso, 15 December 1899
- Tugela Heights: Battle of the Tugela Heights, 14–27 February 1900
- Hartshill: Hart's Hill, 23 February 1900, part of the Relief of Ladysmith
- Laings Nek: Laing's Nek was the scene of intense fighting, 2–9 June 1900. Not to be confused with the more famous Battle of Laing's Nek (1881)[15]
Notes and references
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