Type Bridge Public access Yes | Founded c. 1780 | |
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Location Carrignamuck/Meeshal, County Cork, Ireland | ||
Dripsey Castle Bridge is situated 3.3 km (2.1 mi) north-east of Coachford village, 1.34 km (0.83 mi) north-west of Dripsey village, and is depicted on both the 1841 and 1901 surveyed OS maps. It is located at the meeting point of Carrignamuck and Meeshal townlands, and lies within the civil parish of Magourney and catholic parish of Aghabullogue.
In the Ordnance Survey name book (c. 1840), it is referred to as a small stone bridge, one-eight of a mile to the south-west of Hayfield House. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes it as a triple-arch humpback road bridge built c. 1780. It has rubble stone walls, concrete capping to the parapet, arches with dressed stone voussoirs, and v-shaped cutwaters on its east and west elevations. The bridge's name is said to derive from nearby Dripsey Castle, Carrignamuck.
Adjoining the bridge is the entrance to Dripsey Castle, a gate lodge and an ornamental tower.
Many surviving bridges in mid-Cork are originally constructed of stone, arched in shape, and late eighteenth or early nineteenth century in date. Typical features include semi-circular arches and pointed breakwaters. Earlier bridges are often narrower, although some were widened at a later stage.