Multins Bridge

Triple-arch bridge carrying road over the Oily River, built c. 1820 and altered c. 1870, having V-profile cut stone cutwaters to the upstream side (north) and rock-faced cut stone buttress to the east pier on the downstream elevation (south), added c. 1870. Segmental-headed arches having dressed stone voussoirs; rubble stone constructed to piers. Roughly squared and coursed rubble stone construction to piers, abutments, and to parapets. Large rock-faced stone coping over parapets. Tarmacadam deck with grass verges. Located to the north-east of Killybegs/north of Dunkineely.

This impressive triple-arched road bridge retains its early character and form, and is an appealing feature in the scenic landscape to the north-east of Killybegs. 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 good quality dressed stone voussoirs and the ashlar construction to the cutwaters are of a high standard, which helps to elevate this bridge above many of its contemporaries in Donegal. This bridge probably originally dates to the early 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 form of the buttress to the south elevation, particularly the rock-faced masonry used in its construction, suggests that this feature is a later addition, perhaps added c. 1860 (rock-faced masonry is a feature of many bridges built by the Board of Works in Ireland, particularly in the 1850s and 1860s). The V-profile cutwaters to the upstream elevation may also have been later additions, perhaps added at the same time the buttress was added. This fine bridge is an integral element of the built heritage and transport history of the local area, and is a feature of some aesthetic quality in the rural landscape.