Stephen W. Farrington

PHOTOGRAPHED MAY 2022 REPROCESSED IN OCTOBER 2023

Daly’s Bridge is a pedestrian bridge spanning the River Lee in Cork, Ireland. Known locally as the Shakey Bridge, it joins Sunday’s Well on the north side to Fitzgerald’s Park in the Mardyke area on the south.

In some of the images you should see pink Cast-iron railings. They were erected c.1900 and are described as cast-iron fluted bollards with domed floral caps and connecting tubular railings. There are also roughly dressed limestone blocks to quay walkway edge with steps to western end leading to river. The subtly detailed railings are a fine example of nineteenth century metal work, and contribute positively to the streetscape. The railings and steps at their western end mark the landing place of the ferry which preceded Daly’s Bridge as a means of crossing the river at this point.

Completed in 1926 and opened in 1927, it is the only suspension bridge in Cork City. It was constructed by the London-based David Rowell & Company to the design of Stephen W. Farrington, the Cork City Engineer. Constructed primarily of wrought iron, the bridge spans 160 feet (49 m), and the timber-planked walkway is 4+1⁄2 feet (1.4 m) wide.

The bridge takes its official name from Cork businessman James Daly, who contributed to the cost of the bridge. Its colloquial name (the “Shakey Bridge” or “Shaky Bridge”) derives from the movement of the platform when running or jumping on the bridge.

In August 2019, work began on restoration of the bridge. It was dismantled into four sections and removed so that repair of the bridge structure could be carried out. In July 2020, it was reported that while the structure of the bridge had been reinstalled, “several weeks of work” were required before it would reopen. It was reopened to the public in December 2020. I got my first opportunity to photograph the restored bridge in August 2021

The bridge is listed on Cork City Council’s Record of Protected Structures.

I visited Cork City in May 2022 and the city had not yet fully recovered from Covid-19 travel restrictions so I had the opportunity to visit many locations where I was the only person and tis gave me the freedom to photograph without people appearing in my photographs. I still have about 4000 photographs that have yet to be published so I decided to reprocess them using more recent tools upload them when I am happy with the results.