Montpelier is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in east County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, on the east bank of the River Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

. It is connected to O'Briensbridge

O'Briensbridge

O'Brien's Bridge or O'Briensbridge is a village in east County Clare, Ireland, on the west bank of the River Shannon. The first bridge across the river here was built in 1506 by Turlough O'Brien, First Earl of Thomond and his brother, the Bishop of Killaloe.This 16th-century bridge was replaced or...

 across the river in County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

 by a 14-arch stone bridge. The first bridge across the river here was built in 1506 by Turlough O'Brien, First Earl of Thomond

Earl of Thomond

"Earl of Thomond" was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created twice for the family of Ó Briain. The O'Brien dynasty were an ancient Irish sept native to north Munster....

 and his brother, the Bishop of Killaloe.

This 16th century bridge was in turn replaced or rebuilt c1750. The five arches on the W side of the bridge date from this period. The six arches on the E side were replaced by the Shannon Commissioners in 1842. The first arch on the W side was replaced by the present navigation arch when the Shannon Scheme was built downstream in 1925-29

The ancient river-crossing here is believed to be identical with Áth Caille (meaning "Ford of the Wood"): one of the three fords mentioned in the Triads of Ireland

Triads of Ireland

The title Trecheng Breth Féne "A Triad of Judgments of the Irish", more widely known as "The Triads of Ireland", refers to a miscellaneous collection of about 214 Old Irish triads on a variety of topics, such as nature, geography, law, custom and behaviour...

, the others being Áth Clíath (Dublin) and Áth Lúain (Athlone).

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• O'Briensbridge-Montpelier
  O'Briensbridge-Montpelier
  O'Briensbridge is a village in east County Clare, Ireland, on the west bank of the River Shannon. The first bridge across the river here was built in 1506 by Turlough O'Brien, First Earl of Thomond and his brother, the Bishop of Killaloe...