Ha'penny Bridge & The River Liffey
Why is it significant?
Walk onto the graceful arched wooden deck of the Ha'penny Bridge and rest your hands on the white cast-iron railing at mid-span. Look down at the dark, peaty waters of the River Liffey flowing eastward toward Dublin Bay.
Key Facts
| Place | Ha'penny Bridge & The River Liffey |
|---|---|
| Address | Bachelors Walk, Dublin 1 |
| Geo Coordinates | 53.34630, -6.26310 |
| Part of Walk | Dublin Rebels & Literary Giants: From the Easter Rising to Joyce's Pubs |
| Generated | Generated |
Walk onto the graceful arched wooden deck of the Ha'penny Bridge and rest your hands on the white cast-iron railing at mid-span. Look down at the dark, peaty waters of the River Liffey flowing eastward toward Dublin Bay. Opened in May eighteen sixteen, this elegant footbridge was the very first iron bridge in all of Ireland, celebrated for its elliptical arch and delicate decorative lamps.
Its official title is the Liffey Bridge, but no Dubliner ever calls it that. Before it was built, an alderman named William Walsh operated seven leaky ferry boats across the river. When his ferries fell into disrepair, city officials told him to either repair them or build a bridge. Walsh built this bridge and was legally granted the right to charge every crossing pedestrian a toll of one half-penny for one hundred years.
Turnstile gates stood at each end until nineteen nineteen, when the century-long toll contract finally expired and the bridge became free for all citizens.
Across the river lies the cobblestone maze of Temple Bar. Step off the bridge onto Fleet Street to find Dublin's most authentic literary watering hole, The Palace Bar.