Capital's Spire is 10 years old, but still not a favourite with many locals

“Ugly but handy,” is the verdict from many in Dublin on the Spire, which has just turned 10. Few waiting at the monument yesterday considered it a thing of beauty but most agreed it was a good place to meet. “It’s just a big spike so I wouldn’t miss it if it was gone,” said Callien Ryan (19).

Others are pleased to have the structure when they are meeting people who have recently arrived in Ireland. “Everybody knows it,” says Justas Vleikis (20) from Lithuania.

The 120m Spire was designed by British architect Ian Ritchie at a cost of €4.6 million. A capsule is buried at the foot of the Spire, with items including the front page of an edition of The Irish Times, a till receipt from the bar in the Shelbourne Hotel and a packet of 20 cigarettes. It has become a tourist attraction, according to Dominic Jacobs (44), who works with City Sightseeing Dublin open-top bus tours. “Everyone takes pictures of it often from further down O’Connell Street where they can pretend to be holding it in their hand,” he said.

Paul Stanley (42), who runs the flower stall beside it, has also seen tourists contorting themselves to get the perfect photograph. “They’ll get down on the ground trying to get it all in, even when it’s raining,” he said.

But some will never be reconciled to the Spire. “I hate it,” said Maisie Prendergast (85). “I would like to see it gone and in time maybe it will go.”

“It’s useless. I never really look at it,” says Cian Ford (19).

Many hark back to Nelson’s Pillar, which stood on the spot the Spire occupies until it was destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1966. “You could go up it and get a view over the city,” says Jean Manning (65).

Others had some interesting ideas as to what could replace it. “They could put up a statue of BOD . He deserves it,” says Eoghan O’Connor (21).

There was one lone voice arguing for the beauty of the Spire. John, who declined to give his second name, runs the paper stand on O’Connell Street just down from Clerys department store and says he sees the structure at its best at sunrise. “On a clear morning with the dark blue sky in the background and the sun coming up from the east it looks magnificent,” he said.