bridge

Single-arched bridge carrying road over Corkey River, built c. 1800. Segmental-headed arch with dressed stone voussoirs; squared rubble stone construction to arch barrel. Squared and rubble stone construction to spandrels and abutments. Rubble stone construction to parapet to the south-west with modern repairs in places’ parapet to the north-east now removed. Tarmacadam deck with grass verges. Located in the rural countryside to the south of Manorcunningham.

This impressive and elegant single-arch bridge, of late nineteenth or early nineteenth-century century date, retains its original form and character, and is an appealing feature in the landscape to the south of Manorcunningham. It is robustly-constructed in local rubble stone masonry, and its continued survival and use stands as testament to the quality of its original construction, and of the skill of the masons involved. The single wide graceful arch with well-crafted voussoirs is a feature of some technical and engineering merit that help to elevate this bridge above many of its contemporaries. It was probably originally constructed during late-eighteenth century or the first decades of the nineteenth century, a period that saw a great deal of road and bridge-building in Ireland, particularly by the Grand Juries (the forerunners of the County Councils). The loss of one of the parapets is regrettable but fails to detract substantially from its appeal. This unassuming rustic bridge is an addition to both the built heritage of the local area and to the extensive transport heritage of County Donegal.