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The lines of this bridge are familiar to anyone who has visited Dublin, and its graceful arch is featured on numerous products, all the way from tourism brochures to a prominent place on the Dublin Starbucks mug. Ha’Penny Bridge was the first pedestrian bridge to cross the Liffey, and indeed remained the only pedestrian bridge until 2000.
As the accepted icon of Dublin, this bridge was built in 1816 and named “Wellington Bridge.” The much more common name of “Ha’Penny” comes from the toll people would have to pay for the privilege of crossing – a half penny.
Before the bridge was built, William Walsh operated a ferry business transporting people and goods from one side of the Liffey to the other. However, he did not maintain his ferries well, and people became fearful that they would not make the relatively short crossing safely. Walsh was given an ultimatum – either repair your ferries or build a bridge. Being a shrewd businessman, Walsh chose to build a bridge, and subsequently charged people the old ferry toll (a half penny) to cross it.
The toll remained in place until the early 1900s, with turnstiles at either end of the bridge. Thankfully, today the bridge is free to the public!
Ha’Penny Bridge is a popular spot to place “love locks.” People write their own name and the name of their sweetheart on a padlock, fasten it to the bridge, and then throw the key over the side. However, the weight of all these padlocks add up, and were causing some structural risk to the bridge, and last year alone, over 660 pounds of padlocks were removed from the bridge.
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