07.10.2025, 18:00 P.M.

Ireland's Heritage Bridges: their history and conservation by Rob Goodbody.

This is the first talk in the Water & Ireland's Architectural Heritage autumn Conservation Education talk series.

Abstract: The original bridges in Ireland would have been of timber, but stone bridges came into use in the medieval period, being stronger and longer lasting. Ireland has a significant number of medieval stone bridges that are still carrying traffic as well as many others built through to the late nineteenth century. This talk looks at the types of bridges found around the country, explaining the different types of stone bridges and how they changed over time.

Rob Goodbody's background is historical geography and planning, with postgraduate qualifications in planning and building conservation, including a masters in building conservation from UCD and an MA in local history from Maynooth University. After years of working in various planning authorities in London and Dublin, Rob established a practice in building conservation in 2003. Over the years he has published numerous articles and papers and seven books and co-authored another four books, covering such diverse topics as local history, the Great Famine, industrial heritage, mining heritage, bridges and Martello towers. He was editor of the third volume of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas of Dublin, covering the period 1756 to 1847, published by the Royal Irish Academy in 2014. Rob is currently President of the Industrial Heritage Association of Ireland.

Image: Slane Bridge, Co. Meath (image courtesy of Rob Goodbody)