Bridging Memories: Discover the Story of Kenmare’s Bridges

A remarkable new heritage installation has arrived at the Bell Height in Kenmare, inviting locals and visitors to stop for a while and discover the fascinating story beneath one of the town’s most familiar landmarks. Bridging Memories is the work of Simon Linnell and Tessa Dennison, created in conjunction with the Kenmare Archive and the Kenmare Chronicle. Through a series of beautifully designed large scale poster panels, the installation traces almost two centuries of history surrounding the bridges across the Kenmare River. And it is quite a story.

Long before motorists travelled the familiar road south from Kenmare towards the Beara Peninsula, crossing the river was a very different affair. One of the panels introduces us to Henry Duckett, who earned his living as a ferryman, carrying people between the south bank of the river and Kenmare on the north shore. That ferry service would eventually disappear following the construction of something extraordinary: Ireland’s first suspension bridge.

Ireland’s First Suspension Bridge

Work on a new road from Kenmare towards Bantry began in 1834, bringing with it the question of how best to cross the Kenmare River and the solution was ambitious. Construction of an iron suspension bridge began in 1840 and was completed in 1841. The foundation stone was laid by Lord Lansdowne, who contributed £3,200 towards the eventual construction cost of £7,280. For almost a century, the elegant suspension bridge became part of the landscape and life of Kenmare.

The historic photographs reproduced throughout the exhibition are particularly wonderful. They show the bridge from different viewpoints and eras, alongside postcards that once carried images of Kenmare around Ireland and across the world.

Going, Going, Gone

By the early 20th century, traffic had become considerably heavier and faster than anything the bridge's original designers could have imagined. Repairs were undertaken, but by early 1932 the old suspension bridge was declared unsafe.

The Bridging Memories panels capture its final days in extraordinary detail, including photographs of the painstaking demolition of its central tower and arch. Yet the old bridge had one final job to do a it became a working platform from which its replacement could be constructed.

Building Our Lady’s Bridge

The replacement bridge was a striking new reinforced concrete structure, designed with two great rigid arches. The panels take visitors right inside its construction during 1932, from driving piles deep into the riverbed and laying foundations to building the enormous timber shuttering required to cast the arches. The photographs are remarkable, not simply as a record of engineering, but as a record of the people who built the bridge.

Up to 30 unskilled men were employed each day during construction, alongside skilled carpenters, steel fixers, stonemasons and blacksmiths, with the majority drawn from the local area. In an age before the machinery we now take for granted, much of this immense project was accomplished through physical labour, ingenuity and extraordinary craftsmanship and in just twelve months after construction began, the new bridge was complete.

Our Lady’s Bridge officially opened on 25 March 1933

More than 90 years later, it remains one of the most distinctive approaches to Kenmare.

History Hidden in Plain Sight

Perhaps that is what makes Bridging Memories so special. Thousands of us have travelled across Our Lady’s Bridge. We know its unmistakable arches and the beautiful views across the water towards the mountains, but how many of us knew about the ferryman who came before it? Or the great suspension bridge that stood there for almost a century? Or the local men who helped construct the bridge we cross today?

Bridging Memories turns a familiar part of Kenmare into something to look at again. The installation also explores the wider heritage of the area, including The Music Makers, Dick Joynt's wonderful limestone sculpture overlooking Kenmare Bay, depicting three traditional musicians playing the bodhrán, bouzouki and accordion. It is a reminder that history does not only live in museums or books. It is all around us, in our roads, bridges, buildings, landscapes and the stories handed from one generation to another.

Preserving Kenmare’s Stories

The project is particularly fitting given Simon Linnell's long standing work with the Kenmare Chronicle. For more than a decade, the Chronicle has collected old photographs, personal recollections and stories documenting the changing faces of Kenmare and its surrounding communities. That work is now being preserved for future generations through the developing Kenmare Archive, creating an invaluable digital record of the town's social history. Simon, who also owns Willowfield Garden Centre in Kenmare, is editor of the Kenmare Chronicle, while Tessa Dennison has brought the story together through the wonderful design of the Bridging Memories panels.

Together they have transformed an extraordinary collection of photographs, engineering drawings, maps, postcards and local memories into an outdoor exhibition that everyone can enjoy.

Take a Walk Through Kenmare’s History

If you are in Kenmare during Heritage Week, make time to visit the Bell Height and walk along the Bridging Memories installation. Read the stories. Study the old photographs. Look across towards the bridge itself and imagine the same stretch of water with a ferryman making his crossing, then an elegant Victorian suspension bridge spanning the river, followed by the extraordinary scenes of construction in 1932.

And the next time you drive across Our Lady’s Bridge, you may find yourself looking at it rather differently.

Your town. Your community. Your history

The Bridging Memories installation has been created with the support of a wonderful range of local partners, sponsors and heritage organisations, with historical material drawn from collections including the Kenmare Archive, Kenmare Chronicle, Kerry Library and National Library of Ireland.

Follow the Kenmare Chronicle on Instagram for more photographs, stories and fascinating glimpses into Kenmare's past.