Calls for new pedestrian bridge in Kilkenny and removal of steel supports of original Talbot's Inch bridge
Talbot's Inch Suspension Bridge was built to enable mill workers to cross from Talbot's Inch to the mills on the opposite side
A local community activist is calling for a new pedestrain bridge over the River Nore close to where the Talbot's Inch Suspension Bridge originally stood.
The Talbots Inch Suspension Bridge collapsed in 1947. Local man Liam Heffernan, who contested the most recent local election, claims that the steel supports for the bridge were never retrieved and ‘present a hazard, particularly for boating’. He added that the need for a new replacement bridge in the area ‘has never been greater’.
“The provision of a new pedestrian bridge in the area would allow people from the west side of Kilkenny to access the Bleach Road and the new Kilkenny Countryside Park,” he said.
“It would, of course, also allow people from the Bleach Road side easy access to Bishopsmeadows Park, and further connect the city.”
The original Talbot's Inch Suspension Bridge was built by Lady Desart in 1906 to enable mill workers to cross the River Nore, from their residences in Talbot's Inch to the mills on the opposite side of the river. The bridge stood until it was destroyed by the Great Flood in 1947.
Remnants of the concrete ramp leading up to the bridge, the steel column supports for the bridge and the suspension cables from which the bridge deck was hung can still be seen at the site.