The Ha’Penny Bridge was Dublin’s first pedestrian bridge.
Since its creation, it has become an icon of Dublin. It is one of the earliest cast-iron
bridges of its kind and is the oldest pedestrian bridge in the city of Dublin. Until
1999’s opening of Millenium
Bridge, it was Dublin’s only pedestrian bridge to span the River Liffey.
In the 1800s, travel across the River Liffey, which is the
river that runs through Dublin, was done by ferry. The service was performed by
William Walsh. One
day, Walsh was told that the ferries were no longer river-worthy as they began to
rust and age. To fix the situation, Walsh said he would build a bridge to help
people cross the Liffey.
When Walsh built the bridge, Dublin Corporation allowed him
to charge a half penny (ha’penny) toll for 100 years. This way, he could still
make money, even though he couldn’t charge people for the ferry service.
The iron for the bridge was cast by Abraham Darby III in Coalbrookdale
Foundry in Shropshire in England. Design of the bridge is said to have been
overseen by John Windsor of Coalbrookdale. Walsh and John Beresford served as
aldermen for the project. Ha’Penny was proposed as a shortcut to Crow Street
Theatre.
The bridge opened on May 19, 1816. It cost a total of £3000.
Although tolls were collected, people enjoyed 10 toll-free days after the bridge
opened. Tolls were then collected until 1919, when the turnstiles were removed
from the bridge.
The bridge has gone through several name changes over the
years. The bridge was originally called the Wellington Bridge. In 1922, it
became known as the Liffey Bridge until it became known as the Ha’Penny Bridge,
which it is known by today. Other names it has been called include Metal,
Triangle or Iron Bridge.
The bridge is 43 meters (approx. 141 feet) long and 3 meters
(nearly 10 feet) wide. It stands 3 meters above the River Liffey. The bridge
has three arch ribs formed in six segments. Today, it is an off-white color as
it originally was, but through the years, it has been black and silver. During
the 1950s, there were advertisements placed all over the bridge, which was
unpopular, with people stating that these ads made the bridge look terrible.
In 1998, Dublin City Council did a structural assessment of
the bridge that showed that it needed to be refurbished. Several different
design options were considered, and officials also considered leaving the
bridge as decoration without practical use.
However, they decided to fix the bridge to be used once
more. 1000 rail pieces were labelled, removed, and sent to Northern Ireland for
repair. The bridge reopened in 2001 and looks like it does today. Like many bridges, Ha’Penny was once home to
love locks, but they were removed
in 2012 due to maintenance and damage risk.
Today, the bridge sees more than 30,000 visitors a day, which is significantly higher than the 450 people who visited each day when it first opened. It is a popular tourist spot and is an easy way for citizens and visitors alike to cross the Liffey.
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