Islandbridge

Island Bridge (Irish: Droichead na hInse) (formerly Sarah or Sarah's Bridge) is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland and joining the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the Phoenix Park.

Islandbridge

Droichead na hInse
Island Bridge circa 1820 (then called "Sarah's Bridge")
Coordinates53.3472°N 6.3083°W / 53.3472; -6.3083
CrossesRiver Liffey
LocaleDublin
Preceded byFirst: 1577
Rebuilt: 1791
Renamed: 1922
Characteristics
DesignArch bridge
MaterialAshlar masonry
Total length32m[1]
No. of spans1
History
DesignerAlexander Stevens[2]
Construction end1791-1793
Location

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

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.[3]

This bridge was swept away by a flood in 1787,[3] and between 1791 and 1793 the replacement bridge, that is standing today, was constructed. The structure is a single[4] 32-metre span ashlar masonry elliptical arch bridge[5] 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.[6]

The bridge was renamed Island Bridge in 1922 following independence from Britain of the Free State, similarly to many other Dublin bridges originally named for British peers.

References
  1. Island Bridge at Structurae
  2. Ruddock, Ted (2008). Arch Bridges and Their Builders 1735-1835. Cambridge University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0-521-09021-0.
  3. De Courcy, John W. (1996). The Liffey in Dublin. Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2423-1.
  4. Petrie, Barlett, & Baynes (with text by George Newenham Wright). "1828 Print from Ireland Illustrated". Antiquemapsandprints.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  5. Current and Future Trends in Bridge Design, Construction and Maintenance. Institution of Civil Engineers. 2001. ISBN 0-7277-3091-6.
  6. G.N. Wright (1825). "Extract from Historical Guide to the City of Dublin". Chapters.eiretek.org. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007.
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