A new €88M road project that includes a new bridge over the River Shannon connecting Ballina in Tipperary to Killaloe in Clare will be officially opened at 3pm today by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien. Construction work under the leadership of John Sisk & Son began in 2022.
The bridge has been named as the Brian Boru Bridge in honour of the last High King of Ireland who was born in Killaloe close to Lough Derg. The bridge will essentially replace a narrower 300-year-old bridge that links the two towns and operates as a single lane roadway at present. In the coming weeks the old bridge will be pedestrianised on a trial basis – this will allow an interim period when both bridges will operate for vehicles.
The project also includes a By Bypass for Ballina and upgrades to the road link between Ballina and Birdhill.
Brian Boru was born in 941 AD in Killaloe and died in 1014. According to very early tradition he was murdered while praying in his tent at the time of the Battle of Clontarf – involving the forces of High King Brian Boru and a coalition of Leinstermen, Vikings, and rebels led by Máel Mordha mac Murchada. He is buried in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh.
