Droichead Ghaoth Barra

The picture below shows the bridge as it is today from the south seaward side looking towards Leitir on the far side.

Remembrance of Times Past

The Old The first bridge to span the Gweebarra Estuary was built of iron in 1896/97 under the auspices of the "Congested Districts Board". It was a flexible rather than a rigid design due in large part to the excessive cost of building a rigid structure. ( See Picture 1 ). The bridge served well for some 56 years before being replaced by the present bridge seen above opened in 1954. The old iron structure was examined by a county surveyor in 1931 who advised that it be replaced due to the considerable wastage of the iron caused by the action over 40 years of the salt sea spray. In this weakened state, restrictions were placed on vehicles crossing the bridge and tar barrels were placed upon the decking at intervals to slow down traffic. Passengers on buses crossing the bridge disembarked on one side while the bus crossed. The passengers walked across and boarded the vehicle on the other side to continue their journey. Things came to a head in 1946 when a span of the bridge collapsed into the sea minutes after local housewife, Mrs. Mary Sweeney had crossed in a taxi. Mrs. Sweeney did not walk across as was the custom as she was just returning from Letterkenny General Hospital following the birth of twins. The resultant gap left mid-bridge was later spanned by a by a one track bailey bridge which can be seen by clicking on the links to the right ( Picture 2 ). However, it was now obvious that a new structure was needed. The New The new bridge was built between 1949 and 1954 by a Dublin based engineering firm, "Irish Engineering and Harbour Construction Company", later renamed Irishenco. An interesting photo of both old and new bridges side by side can be seen at picture number 3 on the right. The construction was hampered by setbacks but the new bridge was finally officially opened on Monday, February 15th. 1954 at 1.15pm by the Minister for local Government, Mr. Patrick Smith T.D. (See picture number 4). One of the first to cross was then 3 year old Michael Melly on his tricycle. (See picture 6) All six pictures featured in this section regarding Gweebarra Bridge were very kindly furnished to us by Brian Cannon, Post Master of Lettermacaward, whose knowledge of local history has been invaluable to us in the construction of our website. Perhaps the most interesting of the photos is picture number 5 showing inshore fishermen at work with the bridge in the background. All Pictures © Brian Cannon

These links may take some time to download as they contain pictures - but we're sure you will agree that the wait is worth it.   1. The Old Bridge 2. Old Bridge in trouble 3. Old and New 4. The New Bridge 5. Barefoot on the strand 6. Official Opening