As I was photographing this bridge a gentleman had a long chat with me and wanted me to write a letter to Limerick City And Council to complain about the maintenance of this bridge. I must agree with his claim that the council does not cover itself in glory when it comes to preventative maintenance.

Built in 1987 this footbridge is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran. The bridge crosses the Abbey River from the Potato Market to behind the Hunt Museum.

Sylvester O'Halloran (31 December 1728 – 11 August 1807) was an Irish surgeon with an abiding interest in Gaelic poetry and history. For most of his life he lived and practised in Limerick, and was later elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

The Abbey River is a distributary arm of the River Shannon that flows around the northeastern, eastern, and southern shores of King's Island, Limerick before rejoining the Shannon at Hellsgate Island. Hellsgate Island is only visible at low tide. It is bridged by the Abbey Bridge, Baals Bridge, the Canal Bridge, Matthew Bridge, O'Dwyer Bridge, and the Sylvester O'Halloran Footbridge.

King's Island's encirclement by the Shannon and Abbey rivers made it a very defensible location, leading to the founding of Limerick as a Viking settlement in the ninth century. The Abbey River has played a defensive role throughout the city's history, not least during the Cromwellian siege of 1650-51, and the Williamite siege of 1691. It is named after the former Franciscan Abbey located next to the river.

In the early 2000s, a number of historical artefacts were discovered when the river was drained. These included Limerick Port seal, intact mortar bombs from the 1690s and a Viking Age bronze artefact, circa AD 1000.