Hapenny Bridge

The Hapenny Bridge, known later for a time as the Penny Hapenny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in May 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin. Made of cast iron, the bridge was cast in Shropshire, England. Originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Dublin-born Duke of Wellington), the name of the bridge changed to Liffey Bridge. The Liffey Bridge remains the bridge’s official name to this day, although it is most commonly referred to as the Ha’penny Bridge. The manufacture of the bridge was commissioned by the then Lord Mayor of Dublin, John Claudius Beresford. Using ore originally mined in County Leitrim’s Sliabh an Iarainn, the bridge’s cast iron ribs were made in 18 sections and then shipped to Dublin. The design and erection was supervised by John Windsor, one of the company’s foremen and a pattern-maker.