Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge is one of the symbols of the city. Designed by
Coalbrookdale in Shropshire and erected in Dublin in and opened on 19
May 1816. It was the first dedicated footbridge over the river Liffey
and was the first iron bridge in Ireland. It was also rare in world
terms - very few iron bridges had been constructed anywhere by that
date. The bridge was officially named after the first Duke of
Wellington, the Dublin-born victor of the Battle of Waterloo. However it
quickly acquired the nickname by which it is still known because it
replaced a Liffey ferry which charged passengers a half-penny - and this
amount was charged to pedestrians as a toll to cross the bridge. The
Ha'penny Bridge was triumphantly restored in 2001 and now awaits its
200th anniversary in much splendour. This lavishly-illustrated book, the
fourth in Dublin City Council's series on engineering history and
heritage, has been produced to mark the bi-centenary of the bridge.
[Subject: Architecture; Modern History; Engineering Heritage; National
Landmarks; Ireland; Irish Studies]