Bridge

The National Monuments Service's description

Bridge spanning River Suir connecting Tipperary and Waterford (WA002-001----; Inventory No. 1733). According to local tradition it was built by Sir Thomas Osborne who died in 1713 (O'Keeffe and Simington 1931, 205). It would have facilitated access to the 17th-century Kincor Castle (WA002-002----) at Tikincor owned by the Osborne family from the 1650s till the 18th century and located 170m SE of the bridge. Power (ibid. 206) states that the bridge was erected in 1690 and that it was a private bridge with a gate in the middle until the mid-19th century. It is a narrow, humped-back bridge (dims. Wth 3.4m excluding parapets; 4.25m including parapets; L 79m). The bridge, originally of seven arches, now consists of six spans running N to S. The most northerly arch (Tipperary end) is a narrow segmental-headed arch, with flat, broad voussoirs, all sandstone. The next arch is a wide, round arch, widened in the mid-18th or early 19th-century with a tow-path underneath (O'Keeffe and Simington 1991, 205-6). The earlier date is more likely as it corresponds with the carved scroll keystone on either side of the arch. The next two spans have round arches and are similar in size. The next span is slightly narrower and lower and the S arch is smaller. All soffits have been recently rendered with concrete. There are four pointed cut-waters on the W (upstream) side. The parapets are 0.4-0.55m in width. The top of the parapet of the N half of the bridge has been capped with concrete - Tipperary County Council. The altered arch has machine cut voussoirs chamfered, the keystone is a carved scroll (mentioned above), the top is broken off, same on downstream side. The two next smaller central arches are also chamfered. The two most southerly arches and the most northerly arch are not chamfered. The wing-wall runs 19m on N side of bridge on W side of the road and also runs for some length on S side of the bridge on W side of road. The masonry has been recently repointed. Of the original piers all are less than 1.2m above the river bed and range in thickness from 3-4m (O'Keeffe and Simington 1991, 206).

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of revised upload: 20 January 2015

References

O'Keeffe, P. and Simington, T. 1991 Irish stone bridges: history and heritage. Dublin. Irish Academic Press. Power, Rev. P. 1952 (second ed.) The placenames of the Decies. Cork University Press.