Grattan 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

Capel Street Capel Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. On 20 May 2022, it was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin. History Capel ...

to Parliament Street and the south quays.

History

The first bridge on this site was built by Sir Humphrey Jervis in 1676. It was named as ''Essex Bridge'' to honour

Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, PC (163113 July 1683), also spelt Capel, of Cassiobury House, Watford, Hertfordshire, was an English statesman. Early life He was the son of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (executed in 1649) ...

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 ...

. It joined several of Jervis' developments (including

and Jervis Street) to the opposite side of the river and to

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

. ''Essex Bridge'' was an arched stone structure with 7 piers, and apparently partly constructed from the ruined masonry of nearby St. Mary’s Abbey on the

northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...

. In 1687 the bridge was damaged by a flood resulting in the loss of a hackney and two horses. The damage to the bridge was only partially repaired. In 1751 the second most northerly pier collapsed and damaged the adjacent arches. Between 1753 and 1755 the bridge was rebuilt by

George Semple George Semple (c. 1700 – 13 April 1782) was a notable Irish builder and architect. Life His earliest known work is the steeple, in height, of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, which he designed and erected in 1749. He also built St Patri ...

, to correct flood and other structural damage and as one of the first initiatives of the

Wide Streets Commission The Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the layou ...

. During this construction, some original features were removed, including the Equestrian Statue Of George I, by John van Nost the Elder, which was moved in 1798 to the gardens of the Mansion House. In 1937 it was bought by the Barber Institute for Fine Arts in Birmingham, in front of which it now stands. For much of the 18th century, Essex Bridge was the most westerly bridge on the Liffey. From 1872, the bridge was further remodelled (on

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the H ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

), being widened and flattened with cast iron supports extended out from the stonework so as to carry pavements on either side of the roadway. The bridge was (and is still) lit by ornate lamp standards also in

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 ...

. The bridge was reopened as ''Grattan Bridge'' in 1874, being named after

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

MP (1746-1820).

Recent development

From 2002,

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council wa ...

undertook a reconstruction of the bridge deck, with granite paving for the footpaths and a set of benches with wooden seats and toughened glass backs. As part of what was intended to be a ''"European-style book market"'', in 2004 several temporary kiosks (prefabricated in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) were also controversially built on the bridge. Originally intended to create ''"a contemporary version of an inhabited bridge, such as the

Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", ) is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the Second World War, it is noted for the shops bui ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

"'', these kiosks were later removed.

Nomenclature

As is tradition among

ers, the name used locally for the bridge will vary from ''Capel Street Bridge'', to ''Grattan Bridge'' and the original ''Essex Bridge''.

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in 1753 1753 establishments in the British Empire