Ha'penny Bridge 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle

Officially, the Liffey Bridge (Droichead na Life), the Ha’penny Bridge gets its name from the toll charged on the pedestrians who paid a half penny to use the bridge to cross the River Liffey on its run through Dublin.

Prior to the construction of the bridge in 1816, a fleet of seven ferries transported passengers across the Liffey for the same ha’penny. These ferries had fallen into disrepair and William Walsh, the ferry operator, was presented with the choice of either repairing the ferries or constructing a bridge. Mr. Walsh wisely chose to construct the bridge and was granted a 100-year licence to collect a toll of a half penny from anyone crossing the bridge. There were turnstiles at either end of the bridge for the collection of the toll. The final toll was collected in 1919.

The Ha’penny Bridge is a much-loved landmark of Dublin and is presented here in a beautiful painting by Dublin native, Fran Leavey. You can see more of Fran’s wonderful work at www.fabcow.ie.