Bridge, Caher, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Bridges & Crossings

Bridge, Caher, Co. Kerry

Most of the five arches of this sandstone bridge over the Cleady River in County Kerry are permanently dry.

That is not a sign of drought or neglect but of deliberate engineering: a concrete platform has been built on the upstream side of the second arch from the east, funnelling the river's flow exclusively through that single opening and leaving the remaining arches spanning nothing but air. It is a quietly odd arrangement, the kind of practical intervention that rewards a second look from anyone who happens to cross.

The bridge runs east to west and is built of random rubble sandstone, a technique in which stones are laid without the regularised courses of ashlar work, relying instead on careful selection and fitting of irregular pieces. Its five segmental arches, meaning arches that form a shallow arc rather than a full semicircle, are fitted with roughly shaped voussoirs, the wedge-cut stones that lock an arch together under compression. Four low pointed cutwaters project from the upstream face of the piers; these are the narrow, angled projections designed to split the current and reduce the force of water against the stonework. The bridge has been extended on its southern side at some point in the recent past, and the arches have been underpinned to reinforce their foundations. On the north parapet, the original upright stone coping survives beneath a later layer of concrete, a detail that quietly preserves the older character of the structure even as the modern material covers it.

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Pete F
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