Father Mathew Bridge

Father Mathew Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland and joining Merchants Quay to Church Street and the north quays. It is approximately on the site of the original, and for many years only, Bridge of Dublin, dating back to the 11th century.HistoryThe site of the bridge is understood to be close to the ancient "Ford of the Hurdles", which was the original crossing point on the Liffey and gives its name to the city of Dublin.At the turn of the first millennium, the first recorded Dublin Liffey bridge was built at this point. Possibly known as the Bridge of Dubhghall, this basic wooden structure was maintained and rebuilt over several centuries .These rebuilds included a Norman bridge in the early 13th century. This collapsed however in the late 14th century and in 1428, the Dominicans of Ostmantown Friary built the first masonry bridge in Dublin on the same spot. Known as Dublin Bridge, Old Bridge, or simply The Bridge, this four arch structure had towers at either end, and shops, housing, an inn and a chapel were built on its supports. In 1312 Geoffrey de Morton, Lord Mayor of Dublin 1302-3 was reprimanded for building a house without permission on the bridge. On the other hand it was he who began the towers, completed by his son-in-law John de Grauntsete, who later built St. Mary's Chapel on the Bridge.