Bridge, Cloghane, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Bridges & Crossings
The bridge at Cloghane carries a road across the Flesk River on five low arches, each one a segmental curve, meaning flatter and more elliptical than a true semicircle, a shape that distributes the load outward along the piers rather than straight down.
It is built from random rubble, the stones set without regular coursing, which gives the structure an uneven, almost improvised texture that sits naturally in the Kerry landscape.
The engineering details, modest as they appear, speak to considered craft. On the upstream side of the piers, four pointed cutwaters project into the current. These wedge-shaped projections split the flow of the river and reduce the pressure bearing against the masonry, a standard feature of older bridge construction but one that required skilled cutting and placement to be effective. The voussoirs, the individual wedge-shaped stones that form each arch, are described as narrow and roughly shaped, suggesting a working bridge built for function rather than display. The parapets are finished with vertical stone coping along the top, keeping water from pooling and eroding the wall. The whole structure runs on a northwest to southeast alignment, following the angle at which the road meets the river at this point.