Bridge in Drumnashear

Single-arch bridge carrying small road over the former Dundalk Barrack Street to Derry Foyle Road railway line, built c. 1847. Now out of use following closure of rail line in 1965. Segmental-headed arch having ashlar granite voussoirs with chamfered edging, and with brick construction to arch barrel. Chamfered ashlar stringcourse running through arch barrel at arch springing point. Squared and randomly coursed rubble limestone construction to spandrels, abutments, and parapets; ashlar granite quoins with chamfered edging to corners of abutments. Ashlar granite stringcourse at deck level. Battered piers to either side of arches having squared and randomly coursed rubble limestone construction and ashlar granite quoins to the corners. Located to the south-east of Carrigans, adjacent to the River Foyle.

This fine and sophisticated former railway bridge retains its early form and character despite the closure of the railway line in 1965 and its subsequent disuse. The elegant segmental-headed arch is distinguished by the quality of the ashlar voussoirs to the arch and the ashlar stringcourses running through the arch barrel, while the principal elevations of the brick are noteworthy for the ashlar stringcourse at deck level, and by the battered piers with ashlar granite quoins to the corners. The quality of the stonework afforded this utilitarian structure is indicative of the grandiose ambitions of the original builders of this bridge, the Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway Company. It survives in relatively good condition, which is testament to the quality of its robust original construction. This bridge was originally built as part of the Dundalk Barrack Street to Londonderry\Derry (Foyle Road) railway line, of which this bridge formed part of the earliest section between Derry (Cow Market) and Strabane completed and opened in April 1847. The entire railway line was completed by 1859 with the Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway Company building the sections to the north of Enniskillen and the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway Company building the southern sections. This bridge is possibly the earliest surviving railway bridge in Donegal, being built along the earliest railway line in the county. This line was built to the standard Irish gauge of 5ft 3-inches, and was later in the ownership of the Great Northern Railway Company. This railway bridge forms part of a group of structures associated with the railway network on the Inishowen Peninsula, and it is an integral element of the extensive built heritage and transport history of County Donegal.