Carnalway Bridge - La Touche Plaque (1788)

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Ion La Touche Esq Built This Bridge AD 1788

Plaque from Carnalway Bridge in Co. Kildare.

Of French Huguenot origin, David Digues La Touche I, a Williamite soldier at the Battle of the Boyne, was the progenitor of the La Touche family in Ireland. He co-founded the La Touche & Kane Bank in 1719; one of the first merchant banks in the country. His descendants became synonymous with the banking trade in Ireland.

Four La Touches invested the maximum amount permittable in the Bank of Ireland on its establishment in 1783; its first governor being David La Touche III. In 1785 his brother John inherited the Harristown Estate that was bought by their father David II in 1768.

As part of John’s post-1785 redevelopment of the estate, he redirected the Naas to Dunlavin road, which ran through Harristown, around the estate’s boundary. This necessitated the construction of a new four-arch bridge over the River Liffey to replace the seven-arch 17th century bridge (still extant) within the estate (KD029-048----).