Gates in Cloonback

Pair of vernacular gate piers on circular-plan, erected c. 1850. Roughcast rendered over rubble stone construction and having smooth rendered caps over. Pair of hooped wrought-iron flat bar gates with decorative wrought-iron latch and spiral wrought-iron finials. Painted rubble stone walls to the north and south of piers. Road-fronted at entrance of house/farmhouse (not in survey). Located in the rural landscape to the east of Ballinamuck.

These substantial, round profile piers are a fine example of the vernacular tradition, constructed with local materials. Gate piers on a round-plan are a vernacular tradition of the Irish midlands, and can be found throughout Meath, Westmeath and Longford. Simple vernacular entrance gateways of this nature were once very common features of the rural landscape of Longford but are now becoming increasingly rare on account of clearance to accommodate modern agricultural needs and road widening schemes etc. Although construction was primarily functional, they exhibit visual appeal in the rural countryside. The wrought-iron gates are of a simple but subtly ornate design and are a good example of late nineteenth, early twentieth-century metal work. The piers and gates make a pleasing roadside feature, adding appeal to their rural location.