Anna Livia Bridge

About

The Anna Livia Bridge (Irish: Droichead Abhainn na Life, meaning 'The River Liffey Bridge'), formerly Chapelizod Bridge (Irish: Droichead Shéipéal Iosóid, meaning 'Isolde's Chapel Bridge'), is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Chapelizod, Dublin, 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. 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, 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's birth. (The bridge is mentioned in Joyce's Dubliners, 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 – her final monologue recalls her life as she walks along the Liffey.)