The Anna Livia Bridge (), formerly Chapelizod Bridge (), is a road bridge spanning the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

Chapelizod Chapelizod () is a suburban village of Dublin, Ireland. It lies in the wooded valley of the River Liffey, near the Strawberry Beds and the Phoenix Park. The village is associated with Iseult of Ireland and the location of Iseult's chapel. Chap ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland which joins the Lucan Road to Chapelizod Road.

History

As the Liffey flows into the town of Chapelizod, a weir divides the course to form a large

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a m ...

. Split by the two bodies of water, the island at Chapelizod has been a base for industry since at least the 18th century. The main flow is crossed by a four-span stone

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

, having two large central spans and two much smaller end spans. This bridge was built in the 1660s, and originally named ''Chapelizod Bridge''. The bridge was renamed in 1982 to mark the centenary of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's birth. (The bridge is mentioned in Joyce's ''

Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were writ ...

'', as one of his "Dubliners", ''James Duffy'', lives in Chapelizod and visits a public house near the bridge. ''Anna Livia'' is the name given to the personification of the River Liffey, and was a principal character in Joyce's ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It was published in instalments starting in 1924, under the title "fragments from ''Work in Progress''". The final title was only revealed when the book was publishe ...

'' – her final monologue recalls her life as she walks along the Liffey.) AnnaLiffey2

Recent developments

As the only bridge 8 km past the

Strawberry Beds Strawberry Beds or The Strawberry Beds () is a locality and small settlement 7 km to the west of Dublin, Dublin City, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located on the northern banks of the River Liffey between Chapelizod and Lucan, Dublin, Luc ...

to Chapelizod, and a main thoroughfare for traffic from the western suburbs (e.g.: Clonsilla and Blanchardstown) to Dublin city centre, the volume of road traffic over the bridge and through Chapelizod has increased in recent years.

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

planned changes to the bridge, as part of a general "Traffic Management Plan for the Chapelizod area". The changes include the construction of separate footbridge sections outside the parapets of the bridge (to improve pedestrian safety), and the creation of cycle lanes on the bridge. Preparatory works for this initiative commenced in 2010 and the official opening was held in December 2011.

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Bridges in Dublin (city) 1660s establishments in Ireland