Seán Heuston Bridge is a cast iron

Cast iron

Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...

 bridge spanning the River Liffey

River Liffey

The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...

 beside Heuston Station, Dublin. It was previously named King's Bridge and Sarsfield Bridge - and the bridge and adjacent train station are still commonly referred to by older Dubliners as "Kings Bridge" and "Kings Bridge Station" respectively.

Origins

Originally designed by George Papworth

George Papworth

George Papworth was an English architect who practised mainly in Ireland during the nineteenth century.-Early life and career:Papworth was born in London in 1781 and was the third son of the English stuccoist John Papworth...

 to carry horsedrawn traffic, the foundation stone was laid on December 12, 1827. The iron castings for the bridge were produced at the Royal Phoenix Iron Works in nearby Parkgate Street. (The foundry which also produced the parapets for the upstream Lucan Bridge

Lucan Bridge

Lucan Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in the town of Lucan in Dublin, Ireland. It joins Lucan's Main Street to the Lower Lucan Road, carrying traffic towards Clonsilla and the north....

). Construction completed in 1828, and the bridge was opened with the name Kings Bridge to commemorate a visit by King George IV

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

 in 1821.

The bridge has an overall width of just under 9 meters.

Renamings

In 1923 the bridge was renamed as Sarsfield Bridge after Patrick Sarsfield, and in 1941 it was again renamed as the Seán Heuston Bridge for Seán Heuston

Sean Heuston

Seán Heuston, , born Jack Heuston, and sometimes referred to as J. J. Heuston, was an Irish rebel and member of Fianna Éireann who took part in the Easter Rising of 1916. With about 20 Volunteers, he held the Mendicity Institution on the River Liffey for over two days, though it was originally only...

, who was executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising

Easter Rising

The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...

.