Barrys Br. — Thurles Townparks

Barry's Bridge, situated at the E end of the town of Thurles, crosses the River Suir. This bridge may be that referred to in the Civil Survey of 1654-6 as 'a stone bridge upon the river Shewer' in Thurles (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 53) and despite later alterations may contain some of the original fabric. The present bridge consists of seven round arches and six cutwaters. The arches have cut voussoirs with projecting keystones. Two refuges on the N, upstream side, as depicted on Grosse's sketch of the bridge in 1793, are no longer visible and were probably removed when the bridge was reconstructed or widened in the early nineteenth century. The S face of the bridge appears to have retained its original façade consisting of seven pointed arches of roughly cut limestone blocks. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008