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Baal’s Bridge – Joining Irishtown and Englishtown

Posted on June 18, 2010March 13, 2019 by Sharon Slater

The bridge connected the English Town to the Irish Town and in Irish was referred to as Droichead Maol Luimnigh – The Bald Bridge of Limerick. The word bald suggests that, originally, the bridge was without parapets. The old bridge was reputed to be owned by the Earl of Shannon, whose family name was Boyle. Hence the bridge could very well have been called “Boyle’s Bridge”, corrupted later to “Baal’s Bridge” or “Ball’s Bridge”. Also in the early 19th Century there was much uninformed speculation that such bridges were called after Baal, a Pagan God, but the name most frequently used is Ball’s Bridge. There is a benchmark on Baals Bridge.

baals bridge

The modern structure was designed by the Pain Brothers and built in 1831, this single arched bridge replaced a four arched bridge which had stood in the same spot since about 1340. The older structure had a row of houses incorporated into it and by the early 19th century these houses were beginning to collapse.

Baals Bridge Bartlett
Baal’s Bridge With A Row of Houses

Other bridges of Limerick City

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This website is a personal project of Sharon Slater, born from a passion for Limerick and its history. It has been maintained, updated and contributed to it independently and voluntarily. If you'd like to buy me a coffee to keep Limerick's history online, please know that all donations will go directly into the costs of hosting the website and the time and travel to research and write the articles found on the site.

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