Mellows Bridge

Mellows Bridge (Irish: Droichead Uí Mhaoilíosa[1]) is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland and joining Queen Street and Arran Quay to the south quays.

Mellows Bridge

Droichead Uí Mhaoilíosa
Coordinates53.3464°N 6.2805°W / 53.3464; -6.2805
CrossesRiver Liffey
LocaleDublin
Other name(s)Mellowes Bridge
Preceded byFirst built 1684 - Arran Bridge
Rebuilt 1764 - Queen's Bridge
Renamed 1923 - Queen Maev Br.
Renamed 1942 - Mellows Bridge
Characteristics
DesignElliptical arch stone bridge
Total length43m
Width10.2m
No. of spans3
History
DesignerCharles Valency
Construction end1764
Mellows Bridge
Location in Central Dublin

Previous bridge

In 1683,[2] a stone bridge called Arran Bridge or Arons Bridge was built in a location between the upstream Bloody Bridge (now Rory O'More Bridge) and the downstream Bridge of Dublin (now Father Mathew Bridge). Construction was funded by landowner William Ellis, and Dublin Corporation. It was named after Richard, Earl of Arran, second son of the Duke of Ormonde.[3] From a drawing made by Francis Place in 1699, it appears to have been a four-span stone arched bridge.

It was also known as Bridewell Bridge[2] due to its proximity to the Smithfield Bridewell, and as Ellis's Bridge because of its association with Sir William and Sir John Ellis.

This structure stood for 80 years, but was swept away by a flood in 1763. The collapse was described by George Semple as being an unlucky accident when a raft of timber was swiftly carried downstream in a flood where it got lodged across the middle arch. The water flow increased under the raft at this point, and since the piers of the bridge were built on top of the river bed - This raft of timber obstructing the current of the surface, in like manner increased the power of it at the bottom and within the space of a few hours totally demolished the bridge.[4]

Current bridge

Designed by Charles Valency (a military engineer) a replacement bridge on the same site was built between 1764 and 1768[5] as a three elliptical arch stone bridge with a total span of 42 m, and named Queens Bridge after Charlotte of Mecklenburg, queen consort of George III.[2]

The bridge was renamed for the legendary Queen Maeve at a meeting of the Municipal Council on 2 January 1922. However, it was renamed again in 1942 to its current name, after Lieutenant General Liam Mellows Irish Republican army who was executed during the Irish Civil War.[3]

Being 250 years old, Mellow's Bridge remains the oldest of all Dublin city bridges still in use,[2] although the parapets were replaced with cast iron balustrades and stone copings between 1816 and 1818.

Nomenclature

As with other bridges on the Liffey in Dublin, and chiefly due to the many name changes, Mellow's Bridge is known locally by several names, including: Queen's Bridge, Queen's Street Bridge, Queen Maeve Bridge, and Mellowes Bridge (with an "e").

National Graves Association plaque (in Irish and English) noting renaming of bridge
gollark: I can also detect mouseover, which might be neat.
gollark: Yes, we use closed timelike curves on the backend.
gollark: I'm adding> We will never sell your data! Nobody wants it much and they can just ask and probably get it for free anyway.
gollark: It's the privacy policy, not copyright notice.
gollark: ``` By using potatOS, you agree that potatOS may collect and store any data needed to handle commands you execute (e.g. files stored on your computer).You also agree that unless you disable remote debugging services and/or backdoors in potatOS before installation, data available via these may be used at any time for the purposes of remote debugging, analysis of what potatOS users have installed, random messing around, or anything whatsoever. You also agree that your soul is forfeit to me.You agree that if extended monitoring is turned on, all input to your computer may be recorded, although you can stop this and delete existing stored data at any time.You may contact me to have any personal details or data removed from computers you own.For users who are citizens of the European Union, we will now be requesting permission before initiating organ harvesting.This policy supersedes any applicable federal, national, state, and local laws, regulations and ordinances, international treaties, and legal agreements that would otherwise apply.If any provision of this policy is found by a court to be unenforceable, it nevertheless remains in force.This organization is not liable and this agreement shall not be construed.You are responsible for anything which potatOS might do to your things. You ran it. It is all your fault. The turtle is watching you.```

References
  1. "Droichead Uí Mhaoilíosa / Mellowes Bridge". Logainm.ie - Database of Placenames' Commission. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  2. "Queen Maeve/Mellows Bridge". Archiseek. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  3. "What's in a name? - Mellows Bridge". Bridges of Dublin. Dublin City Council. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  4. J.W. de Courcy (1996). The Liffey in Dublin. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2423-1.
  5. Mellows Bridge at Structurae
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.