Tipperary councillor ‘disgusted’ by repairs to historic bridge
A Tipperary councillor has said he is “disgusted” with repair works carried out on Carrick-on-Suir’s historic Old Bridge, claiming the new masonry is “totally out of sync” with the centuries-old structure.
Previously, Sinn Féin councillor David Dunne called on the council to carry out works on the historic Old Brigde, saying it was in a “sorry looking state”.
“The bridge was hit and it’s starting to look ugly. There’s barriers down there ages, and it’s interfering with traffic too,” Cllr Dunne said at a previous district meting.
Following repair works by Tipperary County Council, at the July meeting of the Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District, Cllr Dunne said that he was “disgusted” by the state of the repair to the Old Bridge.
“I’m disgusted. It’s one of the oldest bridges in Ireland and the patch that was put in there is all white. It’s totally out of sync with the bridge itself.
“It’s a bridge that we’re all mad about, it’s one of the oldest in Ireland as I said, and there’s vegetation on the bridge and on the flood walls too, so can we look at that?” the Sinn Féin councillor asked.
In response to Cllr Dunne, council engineer Michael Scully said that the patch stood out only because it is new in relation to the age of the bridge.
“The new section, in the fact that it’s new, it does stand out but it will weather over time. I know it takes the look away from it but it’s a new section of wall that has been put in against an old section of wall, it does stand out a bit.
“I don’t know what other solutions I have to sorting it at the moment,” Mr Scully told the Sinn Féin councillor.
The bridge has been the subject of repeated concern in recent months. At a previous meeting of the Carrick-on-Suir district, Fianna Fáil councillor Kieran Bourke raised concerns about vehicles breaking weight limits on the bridge, saying that breaches happened every day.
“I followed a delivery truck, and I suppose it was carrying at least 15 tonnes, and I challenged the driver when he stopped in Carrickbeg. I was told two words by the driver, one beginning with F and the other beginning with O,” Cllr Bourke said at the time.
“People are very concerned about that. We’re the guardians of that bridge and we need to do something about it,” Cllr Bourke implored.