Island Bridge (), formerly Sarah or Sarah's Bridge, is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland which joins the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

. Island Bridge and the surrounding area (often known as Islandbridge) are so named because of the island formed here by the creation of a

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mi ...

towards the right bank while the main current flows to the left. The

River Camac The River Camac (sometimes spelled ''Cammock'', or, historically, ''Cammoge'' or ''Cammoke''; Irish: or ) is one of the larger rivers in Dublin and was one of four tributaries of the Liffey critical to the early development of the city. Cour ...

emerges from a tunnel further downstream towards Dublin Heuston railway station.

History

In 1577, during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...

, while Sir

Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received ...

was

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, an arched stone bridge was built here to replace an earlier structure nearby at Kilmainham. This bridge was swept away by a flood in 1787, and between 1791 and 1793 the replacement bridge, that is standing today, was constructed. The structure is a single 32-metre span

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

masonry

elliptical Elliptical may mean: * having the shape of an ellipse, or more broadly, any oval shape ** in botany, having an elliptic leaf shape ** of aircraft wings, having an elliptical planform * characterised by ellipsis (the omission of words), or by conc ...

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

and was originally named ''Sarah's Bridge'' after Sarah Fane, Countess of Westmorland, wife of the then

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

, who laid the first stone on 22 June 1791. 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. The bridge has become synonymous with the area, and the residential area around the bridge is now commonly known as "Islandbridge".

Gallery

File:IslandBridge-top.JPG, Road view of the bridge File:IslandBridge-full.JPG, Islandbridge in 2012 File:Memorial Rose-Garden 001.JPG, Irish National War Memorial Gardens

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in 1793 1793 establishments in Ireland Uppercross

History

See also

Gallery

References