Seán Heuston Bridge

Seán Heuston Bridge (irish place name|Droichead Seán Heuston) is a cast iron bridge spanning the River Liffey beside Heuston Station, Dublin. [Structurae|id=s0005739|title=Seán Heuston Bridge]

Originally designed by George Papworth [ [http://ireland.archiseek.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/bridges/heuston.html Archiseek - Heuston Bridge Dublin] ] to carry horsedrawn traffic, the foundation stone was laid on December 12 1827. The iron castings for the bridge were produced at the Royal Phoenix Iron Works in nearby Parkgate Street.cite book
last = Cox
first = Ronald C.
coauthors = Gould, M.H.
title = Civil Engineering Heritage : Ireland
publisher = Thomas Telford
year = 1998
pages = 47
isbn = 0727726277 ] (The foundry which also produced the parapets for the upstream Lucan Bridge). Construction completed in 1828, and the bridge was opened with the name "Kings Bridge" to commemorate a visit by King George IV in 1821. [http://www.berthamilton.com/13329.pdf "Project history of Dublin’s River Liffey bridges" Bridge Engineering 156 Issue BE4, Phillips & Hamilton] ] The bridge has an overall width of just under 9 meters.

In 1923 the bridge was renamed as "Sarsfield Bridge", and in 1941 it was again renamed as the Seán Heuston Bridge for Seán Heuston, who was executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising.

It was restored in 2003 and now carries Luas tram traffic on the red line. [ [http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/2564.pdf Sixth report of the Light Rail Advisory & Action Group to the Minister for Public Enterprise - 2002] ]

The bridge and adjacent train station are still commonly referred to by older Dubliners as "Kings Bridge" and "Kings Bridge Station" respectively.

References