(Pencil Drawing) Cork Corporation first proposed the construction of a bridge spanning the River Lee from Saint Patrick's Street to the north bank of the Lee in the 1780s, shortly after the completion of the building of Saint Patrick's Street itself. An act of parliament, authorising the raising of funds for the building of the bridge, was passed in 1786. Michael Shanahan was chosen as the architect, and the foundation stone of the bridge was laid on 25 July 1788.
