Joe Williams Bridge honours the legacy of local historian

July 16 was a special day for the friends and family of the late Joe Williams, as the Blue Bridge – linking the N7 and Monastery Road – was officially named the ‘Joe Williams Bridge.’

Mr Williams, who died in 2016, dedicated his life to cataloging the history of Clondalkin and was heavily involved in the preservation of the local Round Tower and Mount St Joseph.

The campaign to rename the Blue Bridge in honour of Mr Williams was ongoing for years and was finally agreed upon by SDCC in December 2021.

Fellow historian Monica McGill was one of many in attendance at the ceremony, as well as Mayor Francis Timmons and the Williams family, who gathered to reflect on and celebrate Mr Williams’ legacy.

His dedication to local history was reflected in his work, having wrote a number of books relating to Clondalkin’s rich monastic history, including one about the Monastery of Mount St Joseph and another about St Mochua and The Round Tower.

A Floraville resident, Mr Williams was a founding member of the Clondalkin History Society, which was first set up in 1982 and has been going strong ever since.

Mayor Timmons spoke about the significance of naming the bridge after Mr Williams, and the impact it will have for years to come, saying;

“Hopefully, for generations to come, people will look and say, ‘I wonder who Joe Williams is?’ And then they will do some research and find out the amount of work he did.

“Our generation and future generations will understand a bit of our history and where we came from.”

He also mentioned the collaborative efforts of the Williams family and SDCC to set up an archive for Mr Williams’ work.

“His family is working with South Dublin County Council libraries to establish the Joe Williams Archive, which is a huge amount of books, letters, printouts and research that he did.

“I’m excited to see where that will end up in terms of being an archive that will be available to young people researching history and heritage around Clondalkin and the greater area” Mayor Timmons said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme