Samuel Beckett Bridge has surely become one of Dublin’s symbols, even though it’s located quite away from the main touristic area. The bridge connects the newly built Grand Canal area – where some huge international businesses opened their European headquarters, and the financial North part of the city.
Shaped as a harp, which has been an Irish icon for many centuries, the bridge was created by Santiago Calatrava in 2009 who is famous of his futuristic engineering work. Calatrava constructed James Joyce Bridge down in the western part of town six years earlier. Funnily enough, rumors say that the renowned Irish writer James Joyce and younger Samuel Beckett, who moved to Paris to also to take a literary path, lived in France at the same time, though Beckett wanted to get away from Joyce’s “shadow” (please bear in mind I am not a historian). Later on he was awarded a Nobel Prize. In any case, my guess is that the bridges he created might resemble the architect’s view on these Irish writers and their works and lives – we won’t know.
It is worth walking along the river and take some nice pictures – I tried my best with the one displayed above, by night it is especially impressive. Interesting fact is that parts of the bridge can be lifted up for the ships to pass by – so watch Dublin City Council website for details as it indeed might be closed for crossing a few days a year.
