Rory O'More 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 and joining Watling Street (by the

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

grounds) to Ellis Street and the north quays.

History

Barrack bridge

The original wooden bridge on this site, built in 1670, was officially named ''Barrack Bridge'' because of the proximity of the Royal Barracks. However, it became known locally as ''Bloody Bridge'', following an incident in which ferrymen attempted to destroy the bridge on several occasions (in an ill-fated attempt to protect their livelihoods). Twenty men were arrested and while they were being transferred to the Bridewell Prison, a rescue attempt was made resulting in the death of four men. The timber bridge was replaced by a stone bridge in 1704, and in 1811, a stone and masonry gateway known as the Richmond Tower was constructed beside it by the architect Francis Johnston. This tower was later relocated to the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham after traffic congestion increased with the arrival of the railway in 1847. The Barrack Bridge was replaced in 1859 by the

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

structure which is present to this day.

Queen Victoria bridge (Victoria and Albert bridge)

George Halpin George Halpin (Sr.) (1779? – 8 July 1854), was a prominent civil engineer and lighthouse builder, responsible for the construction of much of the Port of Dublin, several of Dublin's bridges, and a number of lighthouses; he is considered the foun ...

, the bridge was fabricated at the foundry of

Robert Daglish Robert Daglish (1779-1865) was a colliery manager, mining, mechanical and civil engineer at the start of the railway era. Daglish was born in North East England. He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1830. He died at Orrell ...

in St Helens,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, from cast iron (with a

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

deck) and is supported on

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

abutments. Both the upstream and the downstream sides of the bridge were transported by ship and brought up river to be manoeuvred into position at the site. The bridge was completed in 1859 and opened to the public in 1861 by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

and Prince Albert as the ''Victoria & Albert Bridge'' (or the ''Queen Victoria Bridge'').

Rory O'More bridge

The bridge was renamed in the 1930s for

Rory O'More Rory O'More, also known as Rory Oge O'More ( ga, Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha) (died 1578), was the Irish lord of what became Laois. Family background Rory O'More was the second son of Ruairí Ó Mórdha, Captain of Leix, and Margaret, daughter of ...

(1600–1655), one of the key figures from the plot to capture Dublin as part of the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in 1859 O'Moore family