Mellows Bridge
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Mellows 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 ...
, in
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 and joining Queen Street and Arran Quay to the south quays.


History


Arran bridge

In 1683, 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 Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...
. It was named after
Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran (1639–1686) was Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1682 to 1684 while James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, his father, the Lord Lieutenant, was absent in England. He sat in the Irish House of Lords as Earl of Arran ...
, second son of
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was an Anglo-Irish statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Followin ...
. 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 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 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 Patr ...
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."


Queens bridge

Designed by
Charles Vallancey General Charles Vallancey FRS (6 April 1731 – 8 August 1812) was a British military surveyor sent to Ireland. He remained there and became an authority on Irish antiquities. Some of his theories would be rejected today, but his drawings, f ...
, a military engineer, a replacement bridge on the same site was built between 1764 and 1768 as a three elliptical arch stone bridge with a total span of 42 m, and named Queens Bridge after
Charlotte of Mecklenburg Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...
, queen consort of
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
.


Queen Maeve Bridge

The bridge was renamed for the legendary
Queen Maeve Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had s ...
at a meeting of the Municipal Council on 2 January 1922.


Liam Mellows bridge

It was renamed again in 1942 to its current name, after Lieutenant General
Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...
Irish Republican army who was
executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
during the
Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
. Being 250 years old, Mellows Bridge remains the oldest of all Dublin city bridges still in use, 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, Mellows Bridge is known locally by several names, including: Queen's Bridge, Queen's Street Bridge, Queen Maeve Bridge, and Mellowes Bridge (with an "e").


References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in 1768 1768 establishments in Ireland