Islandbridge Droichead na hInse | |
|---|---|
_p131_SARAH%2527S_BRIDGE%2c_ON_THE_RIVER_ANNA_LIFFEY.jpg) Island Bridge circa 1820 (then called "Sarah's Bridge") | |
| Coordinates | 53°20′50″N6°18′30″W / 53.3472°N 6.3083°W /53.3472; -6.3083 |
| Crosses | River Liffey |
| Locale | Dublin, Ireland |
| Preceded by | Anna Livia Bridge |
| Followed by | Liffey Railway Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Material | Ashlarmasonry |
| Total length | 32m[1] |
| No. of spans | 1 |
| History | |
| Designer | Alexander Stevens[2] |
| Construction end | 1791-1793 |
| Opened | First: 1577 Rebuilt: 1791 Renamed: 1922 |
| Location | |
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Island Bridge (Irish:Droichead na hInse),[3] formerlySarah or Sarah's Bridge, is a road bridge spanning theRiver Liffey, inDublin, Ireland which joins theSouth Circular Road to Conyngham Road at thePhoenix Park.[4]
Island Bridge and the surrounding area (often known as Islandbridge)[5] are so named because of the island formed here by the creation of amill race towards the right bank while the main current flows to the left. TheRiver Camac emerges from a tunnel further downstream towardsDublin Heuston railway station.
The area around Islandbridge contains a number of notable Viking burial sites from the 9th and 10th centuries which indicate the area as being one of the earliest recorded contacts between the Vikings and Ireland.[6][7] It was also afording point, on the River Liffey, since at least the early medieval period.[8]
In 1577, during the reign ofQueen Elizabeth, while SirHenry Sidney wasLord Deputy of Ireland, an arched stone bridge was built here to replace an earlier structure nearby atKilmainham.[9]
This bridge was swept away by a flood in 1787,[9] and between 1791 and 1793 the replacement bridge, that is standing today, was constructed. The structure is a single 32-metre spanashlar masonryellipticalarch bridge[10] and was originally namedSarah's Bridge afterSarah Fane, Countess of Westmorland, wife of the thenLord Lieutenant of Ireland, who laid the first stone on 22 June 1791.[11]
The bridge was renamedIsland Bridge in 1922 following independence from Britain of theFree 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".[5]
