The current iron structure, completed in 1863, replaced something far older and considerably more troubled, a sequence of crossings whose history stretches back to the latter half of the seventeenth century.

The first bridge on this site was a timber construction put up in 1670, during a period when Dublin was expanding and pressure on its river crossings was growing. The name 'Bloody Bridge' attached itself early, though the precise origins of that name are debated; some accounts connect it to a riot or confrontation at the site, the kind of violent episode that left a mark on local memory long after the physical evidence had rotted away. The wooden bridge was rebuilt in 1704, according to Dillon Cosgrave writing in 1909 and confirmed by Mac Lysaght in 1982, suggesting the original structure had deteriorated or been damaged in the intervening decades. By 1863, the decision was taken to replace the whole thing with the present bridge, a more permanent crossing suited to the demands of a growing city.

The bridge sits in an area of the north city that rewards a slow walk rather than a hurried crossing. The name 'Bloody Bridge' has largely dropped out of everyday use, which means there is a quiet satisfaction in knowing it when you arrive. If you want to trace the sequence of structures, the 1863 ironwork is the thing you are actually standing on, and the earlier timber bridges exist now only in the documentary record. Coming from the north quays, the approach gives a clear view along the river in both directions, which is worth a moment even on an overcast day. There are no plaques or markers making the grim old name explicit, so the history belongs entirely to whoever happens to have looked it up beforehand.