Design and Construction of the New Women's Hospice, Lough Derg, Co. Donegal

The involvement of the Republic of Ireland Branch in this issue of The Structural Engineer provides an excellent opportunity for putting down on paper a general view of the Institution as it is on, and as it is seen from, this side of ‘the water’, and of marking a further stage of the happy and valuable relationship between the branch and Upper Belgrave Street. I feel honoured that the branch has invited me to delve, as the mood takes me, into the numerous matters to which the branch committee and membership devotes much time and not a little effort. N.V. Torpey

A cast-iron arched footbridge with a single span of 43 m was erected across the River Liffey in Dublin in 1816. The formal name of the bridge is now Liffey Bridge, but it has always been known as the Ha’penny Bridge. The paper describes the site of the bridge and features of its design and construction, and follows its history up to the present day. Analysis of the structure is not offered. J.W. de Courcy

As far as the future is concerned, the practice of structural engineering for many members of our Institution will be heavily influenced by several interrelated developments currently in train in Europe. These developments are taking place approximately in parallel with each other, and this and the foiIowing articles will try to explain, especially to engineers in Ireland, how, and approximately when, these developments will affect their day-to-day practice. N.V.Torpey