Islandbridge

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Islandbridge
Irish: Droichead na hInse
County Dublin
Island Bridge (geograph 6023846).jpg
Islandbridge
Location
Crossing: River Liffey
Location
Grid reference: O12703431
Location: 53°20’50"N, 6°18’30"W
Structure
Length: 105 feet
Design: Arch bridge
Material: Ashlar masonry
History
Built 1791-1793
Information

Island Bridge, formerly known as Sarah or Sarah's Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, joining the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the Phoenix Park.

Island Bridge and the surrounding area are so named because of the island formed here by the creation of a mill race towards the right bank while the main current flows to the left. The River Camac emerges from a tunnel further downstream towards Dublin Heuston railway station.

History

Sarah's Bridge circa 1820

In 1577, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, while Sir Henry Sidney was Lord Deputy of Ireland, an arched stone bridge was built here to replace an earlier structure nearby at Kilmainham.[1]

This bridge was swept away by a flood in 1787,[1] and between 1791 and 1793 the replacement bridge, that is standing today, was constructed. The structure is a single 105-foot span ashlar masonry elliptical arch bridge[2] and was originally named Sarah's Bridge after Sarah Fane, Countess of Westmorland, wife of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who laid the first stone on 22 June 1791.[3]

In 1922 the authorities of the newly independent Irish Free State renamed the bridge Island Bridge, as part of a programme of renaming monuments originally named for British peers.

Pictures

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References

  1. 1.0 1.1 De Courcy, John W. (1996). The Liffey in Dublin. Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2423-1. 
  2. Current and Future Trends in Bridge Design, Construction and Maintenance. Institution of Civil Engineers. 2001. ISBN 0-7277-3091-6. 
  3. G.N. Wright (1825). "Extract from Historical Guide to the City of Dublin". Chapters.eiretek.org. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071031094109/http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/Wright/wright20.htm.