To date we have allowed the release of some of the wood for projects that we feel apppropriate. In 2001, The Ha'Penny Bridge in Dublin, one of the ancient city's most important landmarks, underwent major renovation. The Dublin Plaque Company acquired the salvage rights to this wood in 2002, and we have reserved the wood for use on specialised projects only, which we feel reflects the character of
the people of Dublin and the River Liffey, which joins all Dubliners together. Part of the process was to rip up the wooden decking flooring and replace it with a new surface. This is the very flooring that countless thousands of Irish Stories have paid witness to, and indeed has been walked upon by countless characters of world reknown. This bridge paid terrifying witness to the plight of the Irish population as millions made their way from the countryside to the capital city during the Great Famine. This is the piece of ground upon where the rebels of the 1916 Rising sent messages from the GPO to Dublin Castle in the midst of gunfire and artillery shells. To try to name the passengers of these beams would be itself a passage in history - James Joyce, James Connolly, William Butler Yeats, Michael Collins, Eamon DeValera, Mary Shelley - author of Frankenstein,Bram Stoker probably ran the story of Dracula through his mind as he walked these very boards, Phil Lynott uses the bridge in the video for the classic 'Old Town' - Bono and The Edge on their way across to play in the Dandelion Market in 1978, Bob Geldof & Mary Robinson on their journeys also, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. This is the decking of the most iconic of all of Dublin's structures, a structure which is recognised worldwide. We are very proud to be the guardians of The Ha'Penny Bridge, and we hope you will be too.
