Dublin – Ha’penny Bridge

The city’s ha’penny bridge which was built over the River Liffey in Dublin in 1816. It was originally known as the Wellington Bridge, which the locals would be unlikely to entirely appreciate now. I say appreciate now, but it seems the locals didn’t even appreciate the name at the time, and it was rarely used. The Duke of Wellington was born in Dublin, but colonial links made that a difficult name to use after Irish independence and in 1922 the bridge was renamed the Liffey Bridge.

The bridge was cast in Shropshire and is 43 metres long and 3.6 metres wide. The bridge takes its informal name from the ha’penny toll which was allowed to be charged for 100 years to enable the construction of the project to be paid for.

The bridge from the other side…. The authorities have had problems with people placing love locks on the bridge which is causing problems with the structural integrity of the crossing, and any locks are removed. There has been a recent restoration of the bridge, although it’s estimated that around 85% of the metalwork is original.

And a seagull.