Dublin City Council is to replace a lifting bridge over the Grand Canal in a move which will permanently restrict the passage of some boats between the canal and the Liffey. The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, which has campaigned from the 1950s for the preservation of the Grand Canal, has expressed regret at the move but said it accepted that traffic volumes on Pearse Street had made it inevitable. The Grand Canal runs from the Liffey through 44 locks to join the Shannon at Shannon Harbour in Co Offaly, some 132km (82miles) from Dublin.
