Study to see if disused Silver Bridge can be brought back to former glory

A cross-council feasibility study is set to be prepared to see if the disused Silver Bridge in Strawberry Beds can be brought back to its former glory.

South Dublin County Council and Fingal County Council are joining forces to conduct the Silver Bridge feasibility study and examine the potential future use of the bridge on the River Liffey.

The bridge is also known as the Guinness Bridge, Strawberry Beds bridge and Farmleigh bridge, and connected Farmleigh in Fingal to Palmerstown in South Dublin, providing pedestrian access over the river.

However, the bridge fell into disrepair over the years and the walkway is now no longer part of the structure.

SDCC stated: “South Dublin are committed to preparing a Silver Bridge feasibility study with Fingal County Council, which will examine land ownership matters, connectivity with active travel routes, alignment with supporting tourism and active travel strategies, technical engineering requirements and the potential future use of the bridge.

“Upon completion of the feasibility study, the council are fully committed to pursuing the acquisition of any relevant lands, which will be directly informed by the feasibility study that is expected to be advanced in 2026.”

It is anticipated that, should a future use be identified that warrants construction, a compulsory purchase order may be sent out for lands on the South Dublin side of the banks.

The Silver Bridge is a single-span cast iron box truss bridge that measures 52m in length and is supported by two stone and masonry supports on both banks of the Liffey on the R109 road.

It is understood that was built between 1872 and 1880 by Edward Cecil Guinness in order to supply electricity for his home in Farmleigh House and Estate.

The restoration of the bridge has been a hot topic over the years and many calls have been made in favour of it.

In 2017, SDCC’s then-new 300k Have Your Say initiative allowed constituents to vote on projects they wished to be carried out across South Dublin.

The Silver Bridge feasibility study project received the second highest amount of votes out of 17 in the public vote and 160 ideas overall and €15k was set aside for it.

Following this initial study, Fingal County Council carried out conservation works worth €1.5m in 2022 through a contractor to maintain the historic overpass.

The bridge had fallen into ruin and needed repairs to masonry abutments and had to have damaged bearings replaced.

New gates were also installed on either side of the Silver Bridge to limit pedestrian access.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.