Islandbridge

Island Bridge (irish place name|Droichead na hInse) (formerly Sarah Bridge) is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland and joining the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the Phoenix Park.

Island Bridge and the surrounding area are so named, because of the island formed here at the junction of the Camac and Liffey rivers.

In 1577, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, while Sir Henry Sidney was Lord Deputy of Ireland, an arched stone bridge was built here to replace an earlier structure nearby at Kilmainham.cite book
last = De Courcy
first = John W.
title = The Liffey in Dublin
publisher = Gill & Macmillan
year = 1996
isbn = 0717124231 ]

This bridge was swept away by a flood in 1787, and in 1794 the replacement bridge, that is standing today, was constructed. The structure is a single [ [http://www.antiquemapsandprints.com/p-9670.jpgAntiquemapsandprints.com - 1828 Print from "Ireland Illustrated" Petrie, Barlett, & Baynes (with text by G.N. Wright)] ] 32-metre span ashlar masonry elliptical arch bridge ["Current and Future Trends in Bridge Design, Construction and Maintenance", Institution of Civil Engineers, ISBN 0-7277-3091-6] and was originally named "Sarah's Bridge" after Sarah, Countess of Westmoreland and Vice-Queen of Ireland, wife of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, who laid the first stone on the June 22, 1794. [ [http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/Wright/wright20.htm Chapters.eiretek.org - Extract from "Historical Guide to the City of Dublin" G.N. Wright 1825.] ]

The bridge was renamed "Island Bridge" in 1922 following independence of the Free State, similarly to many other Dublin bridges named for British peers.

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