O’Donovan Rossa Bridge

It was the first of a pair of bridges designed by James Savage and constructed by George Knowles, both of which are still looking good after more than two hundred years. It was opened on the 17^th March 1816, and two years later they once again teamed up and the result was the Father Matthew Bridge which opened in 1818.  

O’Donovan Rossa Bridge

The bridge, the second oldest over the Liffey, was originally a timber construction and built by the developer Humphrey Jervis and called Ormonde Bridge in honour of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Being a man who was not given to decoration the bridge had no railings, something that caused many an accident to pedestrians and animals alike!

A later version was badly damaged by floods in 1802 before it was decided to build a new stone bridge. A competition was held and James Savage’s design won in 1805, although the foundation stone was not laid until 1813. When it  was completed in 1816 (for a cost of £29,950) is was called the Richmond Bridge after the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Duke of Richmond.

The bridge is made from granite quarried in Wicklow, and it has a span of 45 metres. It is 15 metres in width, and this made it wider, when completed, than any bridge over the Thames in London. It’s a three-arch construction and the three keystones that face east represent Plenty, Anna Livia and Industry, while those facing west show Commerce, Hibernia and Peace.

Like many other bridges it had another name change, this time in 1922, to O’Donovan Rossa Bridge. This was in honour of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, the Fenian leader who was born in Rosscarbery, County Cork, in 1831. Having seen the terrible damage done by the Famine he got involved in politics, and became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1865 but was released in 1871 and went to America where he died on 29^th June 1915.

O’Donovan Rossa Memorial, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin

Henry Grattan Bridge

It was the third bridge over the Liffey and known as Essex Bridge when it opened in 1676. Humphrey Jervis, a local developer, named it in honour of the Earl of Essex who had been recently appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by Charles II. The fashionable area of Capel Street was connected to the crowded, narrow streets on the southside of the river. The bridge, however, was often in need of repair as a result of floods and passage across was sometimes chaotic with carts, horses becoming entangled. With trade growing a new bridge was required and this was undertaken by the engineer George Semple.

Henry Grattan statue on College Green

He had also recommended that a new street should be built on the south side of the bridge, facing Capel Street. It was designed in the style of Westminster Bridge and opened in 1755. The new street, Parliament Street, was finished in 1757 and was the same width as the bridge to assist and improve traffic flow.

Almost a century later it was decided to rebuild the bridge, and Bindon Stone was tasked with important job. The Dublin Port engineer’s work was a masonry bridge with five arches, similar to Semple’s. He did, however, make the new bridge flatter which made traffic safer. Also, he added to the width of the bridge with raised footpaths on both sides which he adorned with iron parapets. These were then completed by the addition of ornamental lamps which are both unique and popular with photographers.

In 1875 the bridge had its last name change in honour of the parliamentarian Henry Grattan (1746-1820). He was a local having been born in nearby Fishamble Street and who worked hard to improve Ireland’s economic position. For his work in the 1780s & 1790s the government buildings on College Green was commonly known as ‘Grattan’s Parliament’.

Henry Grattan Bridge