The Loopline Bridge (or the ''Liffey Viaduct'', ) is a railway 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 ...

and several streets in

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. It joins rail services from south of Dublin to

Connolly Station Connolly station () or Dublin Connolly is the busiest List of railway stations in Ireland, railway station in Dublin and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and is a focal point in the rail transport in Ireland, Irish route network. On the Northsid ...

and lines north. Designed by

John Chaloner Smith John Chaloner Smith (19 August 1827 – 13 March 1895) was an Irish civil engineer, remembered as collector of and writer on British mezzotints. Life Smith was born in Dublin in 1827. His father was a proctor of the ecclesiastical courts, and ...

(engineer to the

Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway The Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as the Slow and Easy, was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland from 1846 to 1925. It carried 4,626,226 passengers in 1911. It was the fourth largest railway operation in Ireland op ...

), the bridge was built between 1889 and 1891. It consists of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

lattice girders on a double row of piers with five spans. The

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

is approximately six metres above street level and supports two railway tracks. During original planning and construction (in the late 19th century) the project was subject to much opposition and controversy, because the structure blocks the view down river to

The Custom House The Custom House () is a neoclassical 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is located on the north bank of the River Liffey, on Custom House Quay between Butt Bridge ...

. However, the bridge was deemed necessary as a rail link between north and south Dublin, and to facilitate the movement of transatlantic mail coming from Kingstown (

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

) and Queenstown (

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

). 100 years later, the visage of the bridge remains the subject of some debate, and has been described by historian Richard Killeen as "one of the city's true eyesores". Already arguably less attractive than some of Dublin's other bridges, the façades of the Loopline have been used by

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann, () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national Rail transport in Ireland, railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal I ...

for billboard advertising. , the company has scaled back the bridge's use for this purpose to reduce impact on the city skyline, following input from

An Bord Pleanála (; meaning "The Planning Board"; ABP) is an independent, statutory, quasi-judicial body that decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in Ireland. As of 2007, An Bord Pleanála directly decided major strategic infra ...

and

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 ...

. A prominent feature in the city landscape since 1891, the Loopline Bridge appears in one of the most famous literary works associated with

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Railway bridges in the Republic of Ireland Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in 1891 1891 establishments in Ireland