Clontarf Railway Bridge

Twin-arch stone railway bridge, built 1844-5, carrying Dublin to Belfast railway line over Clontarf Road. Comprises skewed segmental arches with dressed granite voussoirs, rubble limestone abutments and squared rubble limestone wing walls, rusticated limestone walling to spandrels and piers, with carved granite stringcourse and coping to ashlar limestone parapets.

An accomplished piece of bridge engineering constructed by the Dublin and Drogheda Railway Company. The combination of rock-faced limestone and dressed granite provides visual and textural interest what is essentially a functional structure. The skewed arching allows the bridge to span the Clontarf Road at an oblique angle. Such arches require precise workmanship and display the skill and artisanship of masons employed by the railway company. The railway line was laid in the mid-nineteenth century and still carries rail traffic, its continued use attesting to the quality of engineering employed in its construction.