|
Dublin, Republic of Ireland (March 11, 2019) Jill and I “hit the ground running” on our first day in Dublin. We visited Christ Church Cathedral, had lunch at Brazen Head, toured the Jameson Distillery, stopped for a photo op at the Molly Malone statue, and strolled through St. Stephen’s Green. Yes, it was quite a day!
Along the way, we crossed the River Liffey (rhymes with “Jiffy”), which flows through the center of Dublin. There were many crossing points, but we purposefully chose the quaint Liffey Bridge, a.k.a. the Ha’Penny Bridge. A curious name, right? Well, there was an interesting story behind this moniker. The Ha’Penny Bridge was built by ferryman William Walsh in 1816 as the first pedestrian bridge across the river. By law, Walsh could charge a toll – a practice that lasted for over 100 years, until 1919 – and the toll he charged was one ha’penny. Sounds infinitesimal, right? Not so, as this toll was so lucrative that Walsh gave up his ferry business! Jill and I loved this much-cherished bridge, which was fully restored in 2001. Like all good tourists, we snapped a few pics (including the requisite selfie!). |
|
