The one that crosses the River Funshion at Gortore, on the old main road between Dublin and Cork, was built at least four separate times, each phase grafted onto the last across three centuries. The result is a single structure that quietly carries the entire history of Irish road transport within its width, from the age of limestone masonry to a slab of mid-twentieth-century concrete.

The oldest part, running north to south across the Funshion, dates in appearance to the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. It is built of limestone, with six segmental arches, each spanning roughly 4.2 metres, and features the rough voussoirs, the wedge-shaped stones that form an arch, typical of utilitarian construction of that period, along with a large central keystone. At some point in the late eighteenth century the bridge was widened by approximately 2.4 metres to the west, the new arches closely matching the originals in shape and stonework. A further western extension followed in the nineteenth century, adding around 3.1 metres more and introducing slightly wider arches of about 5.6 metres span, along with pointed cutwaters, the low projecting piers that deflect river current around the supports. By the 1820s the road here was operating under a turnpike, meaning tolls were collected from travellers to fund its upkeep, as part of the mail coach network managed by Anderson and Briscoe. A fourth and final phase came in 1956, when a wide concrete extension was added to the eastern side, anchoring the structure firmly in the post-war era of motor traffic.

What makes Gortore worth pausing at is precisely this legibility. Stand on the bridge and the different phases of construction are visible in the stonework, the varying arch spans, and the abrupt shift to concrete on the eastern edge. It is an unremarkable crossing point in the best possible sense, used continuously and adapted pragmatically, each generation solving the same problem with whatever materials and methods were to hand.