Stop Doing This

The Ha’penny bridge, Dublin, this afternoon.

Dublin City Council has renewed calls for people to stop leaving ‘Love Locks’ attached to the bridge as it could “damage the protected structure”. Council workers removed a bunch of locks earlier this year only to see them return in greater numbers.

(Sam Boal/Photocall ireland)


81 thoughts on “Stop Doing This”

  1. I was proposed to on the ha’penny bridge. Made all the more romantic by the fact it was pissing rain and he still got down on one knee :)

  2. in Rome it’s a tourist attraction that brings people back (and makes money to local hardware shops), in here they remove them turn it into a an endless battle for some stupid pencil pusher in the CS.

  4. I spotted these on the pedestrian bridge between Kings Hospital and Liffey Valley Shopping centre over the N4 dual carriageway. I never thought that location would evoke romantic feelings.

  5. ah its romantic but…I might head the hardware and pop into town with the hubby after work to join in!!:):

    • Or on the canal on the devices used to raise or lower the water level, maybe close to that French restaurant in Portobello?

    • I think it’s something along the lines of, ”This lock symbolises the enduring nature of our love”. Also the public display may be of significance too.

    • It’s lamer than a one-legged man with a pulled calf muscle in the 100metres lame sprint in the lame olympics. In lametown.

      • It’s being held in Lametown this year? That can’t be just a coincidence, surely.

        • Allegations again of corruption and bribery during the competition to host. Mayor of Gimpville unhappy. Had Joey Barton endorsing their bid, but to no avail.

          • Lametown’s transport and general infastructure are far superior, but you’ve got to hand it to Gimpville, they know to throw a farkin’ party.

  10. Looks like the General Undersecretary for No Craic is earning his pay this week.

    If you really, REALLY don’t want them there, just ignore it for a while. People will get bored of doing it, and then you can quietly have them removed.

    Failing that, set something else nearby where you *could* attach your love lock. Off the top of my head… a basic ‘tree’ scuplture where lock are leaves? Turn it into a tourist attraction.

    But be awful to live such a grey existance.

  11. gonna put one of them bike locks made of super toughened steel on it later in the week, worth 50 of them euros to see some lad from the council do some hard work for a good 20 mins trying to remove it.

    • That could be construed as a breach of the Croke Park Agreement, methinks

    • Your “super toughened steel” lock will last all of 20 seconds against some liquid nitrogen and a lump hammer. Great away to waste 50 euro though.

      • Please, let him do it anyway, stupidity deserves to be fined.

  12. Damn wrote a comment but it didn’t post. This is a Latvian tradition. Couple do it on their wedding day and throw the key in the river.

    First saw it in Lithuania a few years ago.

    • You mean ‘originally’ a Latvian tradition? I’d be surprised if that was the case.

          • Well Latvian culture is heavily influenced by Russian culture, probably moreson than other Eastern Europen countries. Sometimes certain Eastern European countries claim that ‘this, that and the other’ is a tradition of their country, certain food dishes for example. Then later you find out it originated in Russia.
            So I am not saying you are wrong, just saying I am surprised.

  15. Why is the bridge a protected structure?

    It’s only about a decade old isn’t it? The original bridge was removed and replaced with a replica. There is nothing on the new one that is in any way old or significant.

    I seem to remember that some guys bought bits of the original from the scrap dealer and tried to sell off lumps of it to pubs in America.

    • its the original bridge with bits missing..
      According to widipedia anyway

      In 2001 the number of pedestrians using the bridge on a daily basis was 27,000 and, given these traffic levels, a structural survey indicated that renovation was required.[3] The bridge was closed for repair and renovations during 2001 and was reopened in December 2001 sporting its original white colour.[4]

      The structure was rebuilt to retain many of its old components, although controversially some features were removed.

      • Twas renovated sometime in the 1980s too, when the wooden boards (with gigantic gaps and more than just a wobble) were replaced with a tarmac surface.

        • I like the use of the word “twas” I don’t think its used enough :)

    • Only a small part of the bridge was replaced. 10% according to DCC.

      Plus one of the homeless people on it is like a 100 years old and suffering from serious exterior structural deterioration. They’ve applied for a grant to fix it.

    • “Why is the bridge a protected structure? ”

      Do you drive or use sharp implements?

  16. At the end of the day its only a bunch of stupid locks, how much damage could they really do. And it creates work for lazy ass council workers, so win win really

    • I agree that they are only stupid locks, and I wouldn’t stand in anybodys way of doing what they want with their padlocks lol but on a serious note if they dont remove them the bridge would eventually collapse under the weight of them (although this would take far more years than i have on this planet).

  17. Our women dress like Russians on the weekend, we had the same response to new wealth as Russians did, and now we’re copying the Russian tradition of young couples (observable in any Russian city)

  18. This is honestly the most pointless piece of vandalism trying to be passed off as affection that I’ve ever seen.
    And the defenders with the “what does it bother you if we deface a bridge?” nonsense is the only reason I’m even commenting on this.

    1) These locks mean nothing. If it’s to display affection, go carve your “Tommy (Hearts) Anne” into a tree on the Phoenix Park. Or is that not intrusive enough? Why not fasten the locks to the gate of your neighbours house? See if they enjoy the sentiment, the reaction you get off your neighbour is a microcosm of how everyone in Dublin feels whenever they see these locks fastened on.

    2) Other countries do not welcome this. Name me one country that says “Yes, we welcome people fastening immovable objects to internationally recognized structures/ monuments!” and I’ll show you a country that you literally just made up. It’s that or you’ll ‘wow’ me with pictures of U-locks being welcomely fastered to the Eiffel Tower, or chain locks being draped along the Spanish Steps.

    3) How is this romantic?! How is fixing installing a security feature to a barrier on a bridge romantic?

    The people who do this are inconsiderate and obnoxious.

      • Robocan, +1, but still no!

        shv, I am obnoxious, but I keep this obnoxious nature to an easily moderated field, someone else’s website, where if I post something obscenely annoying it can easily be deleted out of existence. What I’m posting, whether you like it or not, can still be considered relevant within this space.

        It’s not affixing a bolted lock to a public space and claiming my private wishes are somehow intertwined with the fate of the space and that it’s not other people’s business to be bothered by my private appropriation and vandalism of a public space.

  19. Maybe If Dublin City Council stopped uprooting public rubbish bins from every street people would have somewhere to put their unwanted locks! How about Instead of saying stop to whats become a bit of a tourist attraction they just encourage it somewhere else,

  20. I keep forgetting that the internet is really easy to use. Hence all the completely stupid morons who leave thick comments.

    You might have a degree to perform one task very well. But you can’t make sense of anything else.

    • And that’s applicable to which side of the discussion…?
      I apply the same logic to “locks”.
      Just because some thick idiot can fix one to a bridge doesn’t mean that they should.

    • Jockstrap, just be grateful the internet is so easy to use, otherwise we’d never be blessed with your outpourings of bile.

  21. Solution can easily found by googling ‘lock picking video’

    Then get a bunch of mates and have a competition to see who can remove the most locks.

    Broadsheet will put up a suitable prize as encouragement

  22. Funny how they are they worried about “damage (to) the protected structure”. Have they seen the bridge lately? It’s dirty, covered in chewing and frequented by at least one beggar. It’s hardly the fucking Taj Mahal.

  25. I don’t care about the bridge, but I don’t like public reminders of the happiness of others…

  26. Maybe the CC should ask the Lockpickers in TOG Hackerspace to have a go.

    Nothing like a bit of Guerrilla Lockpicking to get the blood flowing :)