It may be just a narrow pedestrian bridge that crosses a river, but that didn’t stop the people of Cork from taking it firmly to their hearts.
Opened 90 years ago this year, Daly’s Bridge spans the north channel of the river Lee. It replaced a ferry service that used to bring Corkonians across the 150ft stretch of this part of the river.
It was named after local businessman James Daly, who provided finance for the construction of the bridge.
Daly was a butter merchant and margarine manufacturer, whose company exported Irish butter all over the world. Daly’s Bridge is a steel suspension bridge. It is supported by four 1.5-inch high-tension steel cables running between four majestic 12ft-high latticed towers. The wooden walkway is just 4½ft wide and, as with many other suspension bridges, it has a tendency to shake if you walk over it quickly. This has led to it becoming known affectionately by locals as the Shakey Bridge. Formally opened on April 8th, 1927, the bridge was designed by the Cork City engineer Stephen Farrington.
It was built by David Rowell Engineers of Westminster, London – a company that produced many steel suspension bridges over the years.
While the majority of their bridges ended up in various locations in England and Wales, a small number of their elegant structures were sent as far afield as the Falkland Islands, Chile and New Zealand.
The bridge over the Lee links the sedate picturesque suburbs of Sunday’s Well and Shanakiel, with their fine old Georgian houses and Mardyke Walk, which leads up to the city centre.
Along Mardyke Walk is a cornucopia of sporting venues where countless legends have been crafted and records have been set. It was here that Joyce's hero, Stephen, saw "a team of cricketers . . . agile young men in flannels and blazers, one of them carrying the long green wicket-bag" in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
The Mardyke has played a central role in Cork’s (if not Ireland’s) sporting history. Apart from cricket, tennis, rugby, athletics, GAA, soccer, and rowing are just some of the many sports that are played within sight of the Shakey Bridge.
It can also boast a strong international flavour; for it was here in February 1905 in front of a crowd of 12,000 that Ireland played a rugby match against England and won 17-3. In March 1911, Ireland took on France and won 25-5. Two years later, Ireland beat France again at the Mardyke, this time by a resounding 24-0. A Munster side took on the mighty All Blacks at the Mardyke in 1954, but lost, thanks to a late try scored at the corner flag.
Soccer has also been played at the Mardyke for many years, and a host of local teams, such as Cork United and Cork Hibernians, have all called it home at one time or another. It was here that Ireland played an international against Hungary in March 1939, with the anthems played by the local Greenmount band. A crowd of 18,000 spectators watched as it ended in a 2-2 draw. The Irish team consisted of players from Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Dundalk and the works team of St James’s Gate, as well as players from English teams such as Manchester United, Southend United, and Brentford. A couple of the Irish players also played for the Scottish sides Clyde and Raith Rovers. While the game itself was not deemed to have been too spectacular, the match marked the first time that a senior international was played outside Dublin.
Athletics is another popular sport in this area and the Mardyke has played host to some of the finest athletes from around the world. At the 1998 Cork City Sports, Sonia O’Sullivan set the world record for the two-mile distance. Today, Mardyke Arena, built by University College Cork and opened in 2001, caters for the sporting needs of university students and locals alike with modern sports facilities.
Further along Mardyke Walk is Fitzgerald’s Park, the city’s main public park. It houses the Cork Public Museum, as well as statues of some of the city’s most famous sons and daughters, sculpted by local artists such as Seamus Murphy and Joseph Higgins.
The bridge itself is an extremely graceful structure. Except, of course, when it shakes as busy pedestrians pass over it in a hurry.
But that is part of its charm. It is one of only a handful of pedestrian suspension bridges still in use in Ireland.
As such, it deserves to be maintained and cherished. It has to be said, though, that it is looking a little tired these days. I wonder if there are any plans afoot to mark its centenary in the next decade?