Father Mathew Bridge () is a road bridge spanning the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland which joins Merchants Quay to Church Street and the north quays. It occupies the approximate site of the original, and for many years the only, Bridge of Dublin, dating back to the 11th century.

History

The site of the bridge is understood to be close to the ancient "Ford of the Hurdles", which was the original crossing point on the Liffey and gives its name (in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

) to the city of Dublin (). At the turn of the first millennium (c. 1014), the first recorded Dublin Liffey bridge was built at this point. Possibly known as the ''Bridge of Dubhghall'', this basic wooden structure was maintained and rebuilt over several centuries (from early Medieval to Viking to Norman times). These rebuilds included a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

bridge (sanctioned by King John) in the early 13th century. This collapsed however in the late 14th century and in 1428, the Dominicans of Ostmantown

Friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

built the first masonry bridge in Dublin on the same spot. Known as ''Dublin Bridge'', ''Old Bridge'', or simply ''The Bridge'', this four arch structure had towers at either end, and shops, housing, an inn and a chapel were built on its supports. In 1312

Geoffrey de Morton Geoffrey de Morton (died c. 1317) was a wealthy merchant and shipowner in early fourteenth-century Dublin who served as Mayor of Dublin in 1303. He acquired an unsavoury reputation for unscrupulous business methods and corruption: in particular, ...

Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

1302–3, was reprimanded for building a house without permission on the bridge. It was he who began building the towers, which were completed by his son-in-law

John de Grauntsete John de Grauntsete or Grantsete (or John of Grantchester) () was an English judge who lived in fourteenth-century Ireland. We know more about him than we do about any other contemporary Irish judge, and from the surviving information, we can form ...

, who later built St. Mary's Chapel on the Bridge. For much of its 390-year life span, ''The Bridge'' carried all pedestrian, livestock and horse-drawn traffic across the river, and (as late as 1762) its tolls and chapel were still in use. At the beginning of the 19th century, Dublin Bridge was replaced by a three-span, elliptical arch stone bridge. Designed by George Knowles (who also designed

O'Donovan Rossa Bridge O'Donovan Rossa Bridge () 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. Replacing a short-lived wooden structure, the original masonry br ...

and

Lucan Bridge Lucan Bridge ( ga, Droichead Leamhcáin) is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Lucan, County Dublin, Ireland. It joins Lucan's Main Street to the Lower Lucan Road, carrying traffic towards Clonsilla and the north, and the Strawberry Beds ...

), the bridge was opened in 1818 as ''Whitworth Bridge'', being named for

Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth, GCB, PC (29 May 1752 – 13 May 1825), known as The Lord Whitworth between 1800 and 1813 and as The Viscount Whitworth between 1813 and 1815, was a British diplomat and politician. Early years Whitwort ...

, then

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

. As with many other Dublin bridges (particularly those named for British peers), the bridge was renamed following the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

as ''Dublin Bridge'' in the 1920s. In line with another, later, Dublin tradition of naming bridges for

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

campaigners, the bridge was renamed again in 1938 for Father Theobald Mathew (''the Apostle of Temperance'') who was born at Thomastown near Golden,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in 1428 Bridges completed in 1818 Former toll bridges in Ireland