Rainbow Br. (Site of)

Rainbow Bridge: This foot-bridge spanned the Inny river at a point 4.3km NE of its estuary and c. 0.5km NE of Dromod medieval church (KE089-027----). Its location is marked 'site of' on the OS maps, at a point a short distance upstream from 'Ahandrohid' foot-bridge. The field on its N side is titled 'Bridge Field'. Smith noted that the bridge was in good repair when the High Sheriff held court upon it in 1732, and wrote in the mid-eighteenth century that its arch 'hath lately fallen down' (1756, 100). Pococke confirmed this latter point when he recorded in 1758 that this 'fine Bridge of one Arch' had lately been 'suffer'd ... to go to decay' (in Ó Maidín 1959, 38). The span of the semicircle arch was 24 feet (7.3m); it measured 1 yard (.91m) wide and rose to 'a considerable height over the river' (Smith, ibid.). A series of steps on both sides led to the level of its haunches. It is unclear from the illustration Smith provided of it whether it was furnished with parapets or not. No surface trace of the bridge survives. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1455. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 1 August 2013