Bridge, Gortnacarriga, Co. Kerry

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Bridges & Crossings

Bridge, Gortnacarriga, Co. Kerry

A small road bridge in Gortnacarriga, County Kerry, crossing a tributary of the Glanooragh River, is the kind of structure that most drivers pass without a second glance.

It is only five metres wide, oriented roughly north to south, and carries no particular fame. What makes it worth a closer look is precisely its ordinariness, and the craftsmanship quietly embedded in that ordinariness.

The bridge is built from random rubble sandstone, a construction method in which irregularly sized stones are laid without a uniform course, giving the masonry a rough, organic texture. The abutments, the solid supports at each end that anchor the structure to the riverbanks, are faced with ashlar, meaning carefully cut and dressed stone, a small refinement that suggests the builder had some regard for the finished appearance of the load-bearing sections. The single arch is segmental, a shallower curve than a semicircle, with a span of 3.25 metres and voussoirs, the wedge-shaped stones that form the arch, left in a roughly shaped rather than finely dressed state. The parapets have been given concrete coping at some point, a later practical addition to protect the tops of the walls from water ingress. The northern end of the eastern parapet has since collapsed, leaving one corner of the bridge open to the elements.

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Pete F
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