Cardiff's Bridge

Three-arch former road bridge, possibly built c. 1500 and possibly partly rebuilt c. 1860, now in use as footbridge. Rubble limestone abutments and spandrels with rebuilt block-and-snecked limestone parapets and dressed granite copings. Round arches, having rubble stone V-cutwaters with concrete capping. Additional flood arch set apart from three primary arches.

A rare survival of a late medieval bridge in the northern suburbs of Dublin, possibly located on the site of earlier structures. Cardiff's Bridge appears on Rocque's map of 1760, but the name derives from a Norman family, Kerdiff, suggesting that the river crossing has a much earlier origin. There is a notable variation in the stonework of the bridge, indicating that the parapets of an earlier bridge have been rebuilt, probably in the late nineteenth century. The bridge remained in full vehicular use until 1979, at which time it was downgraded to a footbridge. During restoration in 1989 a blocked fourth arch was discovered and reopened. The bridge is an important survival of the rich history of the area that is easily overlooked in the current suburban landscape.