Droichead Droim na Fiongaile

Single-arched bridge carrying road over the Glenaddragh River, built c. 1860 and possibly incorporating fabric from an earlier bridge to site. Round-headed arch with rock-faced voussoirs to arch having dressed margins. Coursed dressed and squared rubble stone masonry to spandrels. Rubble stone parapets, repaired in places, having rock-faced stone coping over. Arch flanked to either side by projecting coursed rock-faced stone buttresses. Located in the rural landscape to the east of Cill Chartha/Kilcar.

This fine bridge retains its early character and form, and is an appealing feature in the rural landscape to the east of Cill Chartha/Kilcar. Of particular note is the tall round-headed arch that has an appealing simple elegance, and is of some technical merit. This bridge is robustly-constructed in good quality squared 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. This bridge is depicted on the Ordnance Survey first edition six-inch map of the area, c. 1836. However, the good-quality rock-faced voussoirs to the arches and the projecting buttresses flanking the arch are features found at the many bridges that were built or altered by the Board of Works during the mid-to-late nineteenth century, and particularly between c. 1847 - 60, suggesting that this bridge may have been built or altered around this time. This appealing rustic bridge is an attractive feature in the landscape to the east of Cill Chartha/Kilcar, and is an integral element of the built heritage of the local area.