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The man who blew up famous Nelson's Pillar landmark in Dublin was laid to rest this morning.

Liam Sutcliffe, 84, of Greenhills, Dublin, passed away on November 3 surrounded by his family after a short illness.

His funeral mass was held this morning in Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Whitefriar Street, after which he was taken to his final resting place in Mount Jerome Cemetery.

Liam made history in 1966 when, along with other dissident volunteers, he planted a bomb at the top of Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street.

They singlehandedly altered the city's skyline forever but their involvement was only noted decades later in 2000.

In the 1950s, Liam joined the British Army as an IRA spy but by 1966 he, along with brothers Joe and Mick Christie, had formed a militant splinter group after they were banished from the IRA for 'recklessness'.

Together, they formed the plan to rid the capital city of a monument with a British Admiral at its summit, Horatio Nelson.

(Image: Mirrorpix)

But it was Liam who historically brought his 3-year-old son with him to place the gelignite and ammonal bomb on the 41m pillar's viewing platform.

It was intended that the bomb would go off in the early hours of a date in late February or early March 1966, but it failed to detonate on time.

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Anxious that there was now an unexploded bomb in the centre of Dublin, Liam returned the following morning to adjust the timer so that the bomb would go off a week later.

Then, on March 8 at 1.30am, a huge blast sent debris flying from the monument across O'Connell Street.

Damage was minimal to the shops and businesses surrounding the destroyed pillar and luckily, there were no casualties.

(Image: National Library of Ireland)

Following the incident, the government decided to demolish the rest of the pillar through a controlled blast which actually did more damage to the surrounding area than Liam's bomb.

Several window shop fronts were blown out by the sheer size of the explosion. But, nevertheless, Dubliners gathered to cheer the final demise of the infamous monument.

Some 36 years later, the Spire was erected on the same site.

Fans of the famed Republican took to social media to share tributes to the man who was described as "a true rebel" and a "revolutionary".

Liam is survived by his wife Bernadette, his loving children Rene, Lynda, Bernadette, Michael, Seamus, Liam and Mel, sister Mona, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren, sisters-in-law, relatives and friends.