Overview
Grattan Bridge (Irish: Droichead Grattan) crosses the River Liffey between Capel Street on the north bank and Parliament Street on the south. The first bridge on the site opened in 1676. The present crossing was rebuilt in 1873–74, reusing parts of the previous bridge.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records paired seahorse figures, hippocampi, at the bases of the cast-iron lamp standards. They are the reason to slow down on what is otherwise a working road bridge. The bridge sits a short walk from Christ Church Cathedral, City Hall and the Ha’penny Bridge, in the thick of Temple Bar. It is a road bridge, so expect traffic and noise on the road alongside the pavement.
A bridge through the ages
Sir Humphrey Jervis commissioned the first bridge in 1676 and named it Essex Bridge after Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex. Much of its stone came from the ruins of the nearby St Mary’s Abbey. A flood in 1687 badly damaged the seven-arch span, sweeping away a hackney cab and its two horses, and it was condemned as unsafe by the 1750s.
Between 1753 and 1755 the Wide Streets Commission had engineer George Semple rebuild it, keeping the stone arches but adding alcoves modelled on London Bridge. In 1764 the English traveller John Bush called it a ‘well built, spacious and elegant bridge’.
Growing traffic finished Semple’s version. The bridge was rebuilt in 1873–74 by engineers Bindon Blood Stoney and Parke Neville, cantilevering cast-iron supports out from the old stonework to carry the pavements and adding the lamp standards. The city renamed the crossing for Henry Grattan in 1875, the 18th-century MP whose campaigning won the Irish parliament its legislative independence. Dublin City Council’s 2002 refurbishment laid the granite paving and put in the wooden benches with toughened-glass backs; the book-market kiosks added in 2003–04 proved unpopular enough to be pulled out again, restoring the open profile.
Architectural highlights
A few things reward a closer look:
- The lamp bases – Look at the base of each cast-iron lamp standard for the paired seahorse figures, added after the bridge was rebuilt.
- The cantilevered deck – The roadway and footpaths sit on girders cantilevered out from the original stonework, the trick that let the Victorians widen the bridge without rebuilding it from the riverbed up.
- Other names – Dubliners still call it Capel Street Bridge or Essex Bridge as often as Grattan, the city’s habit of clinging to old names alongside official ones.
Walking the Liffey
Grattan Bridge sits on the riverside route along the quays. Use the pavement on the bridge or look back at it from the quays. On the south side the bridge feeds onto Wellington Quay, and Parliament Street leads towards the city centre and Temple Bar. Head west along the quays for the older crossings; head east for the Ha’penny Bridge and the busier stretch of Temple Bar.
Photography tips
- Dusk – Frame the lamps against the copper dome of City Hall or the silhouette of Christ Church Cathedral once the lamps are lit.
- Daylight – Shoot from the north bank looking south to take in the bridge with the river below, or step close to a lamp base for the seahorse detail.
Nearby
You are in the middle of the old city, and a five-minute walk in any direction covers most of it. The Ha’penny Bridge, Dublin’s cast-iron pedestrian footbridge, is just east along the river. City Hall and Christ Church Cathedral sit a short walk away. Temple Bar’s pubs and galleries start on the south bank, and the cafés and restaurants along the quays make it easy to fold a crossing into lunch or an evening pint.
Practical information
- Admission: Free.
- Access: It is a public road bridge with pavements; check the city council for any works or closures before you travel.
- Parking: There is no parking on the bridge. Check current car park options before you travel.
- Getting there: From O’Connell Street, cross the Liffey via O’Connell Bridge, turn right along the riverbank, then left onto Capel Street. The bridge is straight ahead. Check current bus and Luas routes before you travel.
- Coordinates: 53.3457°N, 6.2678°W