Father Mathew Bridge () is a road bridge spanning the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, 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 Tributary, tributaries include t ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 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) 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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

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

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

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 may ...

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,

Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

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 s ...

, 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. History 1684 bridge Replacing a short-lived wooden structure, th ...

and

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

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

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

, the 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 K ...

. 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 (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

as ''Dublin Bridge'' in the 1920s. In line with another, later, Dublin tradition of naming bridges for temperance 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 () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in the 15th century Buildings and structures completed in 1428 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1420s Bridges completed in 1818 Former toll bridges in Ireland