In 1938, a dissident Irish Republican Army (IRA) group, in an attempt to force the Irish Government to fight for full Irish independence (the 1921 treaty established only a "Free State", retaining the King of the United Kingdom as head of state and keeping Ireland within the British Commonwealth), attempted unsuccessfully to destroy Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street in Dublin, less than a mile from An Stad, which they saw as a symbol of continued British sovereignty in Ireland.
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Anecdotally, in the film Michael Collins, during a scene where Collins and Harry Boland are seen cycling away from a British raid on leaders of Dáil Éireann, An Stad is visible in the background.