O'Donovan Rossa Bridge explained

Bridge Name:O'Donovan Rossa Bridge
Native Name:Droichead Uí Dhonnabháin Rosa
Native Name Lang:Irish
Other Name:Ormonde Bridge
Named For:James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond
Crosses:River Liffey
Locale:Dublin, Ireland
Designer:George Knowles
Preceded:Father Mathew Bridge
Followed:Grattan Bridge
Material:Granite masonry
Length:44m
Width:15m
Spans:3
Open:New Bridge (First built 1682)
Ormond Bridge (Rebuilt 1684)
Richmond Bridge (New location 1816)
O'Donovan Rossa Bridge (Renamed 1923)
Coordinates:53.3453°N -6.2722°W

O'Donovan Rossa Bridge [1] is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, which joins Winetavern Street to Chancery Place (at the Four Courts) and the north quays.

History

1684 bridge

Replacing a short-lived wooden structure, the original masonry bridge on this site was built in 1684 as a five-span simple arch bridge, and named Ormonde Bridge.[2] The construction was overseen by William Robinson.[3]

Between 1752 and 1761, George Semple and his brother John Semple I were consulted on the design and maintenance of the bridge and the possible construction of a new bridge.[4]

In December 1802 this bridge was swept away during a severe storm which also damaged Ringsend Bridge and Lucan Bridge.[5]

1813 bridge

In 1813 construction started on a replacement bridge – the current structure – a little further west to the designs of James Savage and was opened in 1816. It consists of three elliptical arch spans in granite, with sculptured heads, similar to those on O'Connell Bridge, on the keystones. The heads represent Plenty, the Liffey, and Industry on one side, with Commerce, Hibernia and Peace on the other. The balustrades are of cast iron.

Opened as Richmond Bridge (named for Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland), it was renamed in 1923 for Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa by the fledgling Free State.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Droichead Uí Dhonnabháin Rosa / O'Donovan Rossa Bridge. Logainm.ie - Database of Placenames' Commission . 5 December 2016 .
  2. Project history of Dublin's River Liffey bridges. Bridge Engineering 156 Issue BE4. Phillips & Hamilton. 2008-08-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20170812060126/http://www.berthamilton.com/13329.pdf. 2017-08-12. dead.
  3. Web site: Robinson, Sir William Dictionary of Irish Biography . www.dib.ie . 1 September 2023 . en.
  4. Web site: CO. DUBLIN, DUBLIN, ORMOND BRIDGE Dictionary of Irish Architects - . www.dia.ie . 31 August 2023.
  5. Web site: Exceptional Weather Events . met.ie . 1 September 2023.
  6. Web site: O'Donovan Rossa Bridge . Archiseek . 2010 . Architecture of Dublin City.