GRAFFITI will be cleaned off the Spire of Dublin up to three times a day, according to the city council.

Planners expect the monument, due to be completed this week, will be a target for vandalism as Dubliners try to autograph the world’s largest sculpture. But a specialist company is to be employed to keep the base of the stainless-steel spire clean.

“We are confident that we have solvents available to remove spray paint from the monument,” said Jim Barrett, the city architect. “We will be cleaning it twice or three times a day, because we anticipate there will be a temptation to write on it. We may employ a private company to do the cleaning and monitor its alarm system.”

The alarm will be triggered if there is a malfunction in the lighting or if anyone attempts to break into the 120 metre-high structure.

The spire has an underground chamber to facilitate maintenance, such as replacement of the lighting. The entrance to the chamber is guarded by a sophisticated system of computerised-locking doors. As well as cleaning with solvent, the council is also making arrangements to polish the structure, especially the bottom 12 metres featuring a mirrored finish with an abstract design etched in.

Barrett said: “We will have a mobile polisher and anticipate giving it a shine three or four times a year. If there are scratches, we can revisit it from time to time with manual polishing.

“Any reduction in the thickness of the monument due to polishing would be very slight, and would take hundreds of years before it makes an impact.

“If someone physically takes a hammer and chisel to this they will find it is tough stainless steel. The impact would be quite small.”

There will not be a permanent closed-circuit camera trained on the structure, but it will be lit at night. The council is also planning to erect a series of bollards and kerbs around the base to prevent ramming with cars. “It will be impossible even for a tank to get up,” Barrett promised.

The first three of eight sections have now been installed but work was halted on Wednesday due to high winds. It is planned to restart the installation on Tuesday. Sections six, seven and eight have been joined together, which will speed up the final stages.

“It could be finished by Wednesday afternoon but the electrical work then has to be done,” said a council spokeswoman. “We have no formal launch date. The launch will be a big event so we’ll have to apply for a licence. It should be a couple of weeks after it’s finished.”

Silver ceremonial coins are planned to mark the launch of the monument, which is years behind schedule because of legal challenges and engineering difficulties. Originally to be named after the millennium, it is now officially titled the Spire of Dublin.

Designed by Ian Ritchie Architects in London, the 124-ton structure is 40 stories high. Even though only half-built, it is already visible from some elevated vantage points in the suburbs.

The spire has been designed to allow its tip to move 2.5 metres in the wind. The top nine metres are perforated with almost 12,000 15mm holes to allow it to radiate light. Rainwater will be collected in an internal gutter and will be flushed to the ground.

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