Bridge

The National Monuments Service's description

Spanning the River Suck at Ballinasloe: this is the easternmost of a two road bridges which carry the N6 across the meandering channels of the River Suck. From its proximity to the castle (GA088-040----) on E bank, the bridge is likely to stand on or close to the ancient fording point from which Ballinasloe partly takes its name. The earliest reference to a bridge here occurs in 1579, when it is recorded that 'a bridge had been lately made at Ballinasloe over the river of Suck at our own [the Government's] charges; so the castle there shall be continued in our hands, being the common passage into Galloway' (quoted in Egan 1960, 70). This bridge still survives albeit incorporated into the wider modern road bridge. From the investigations carried out by O'Keeffe and Simington (1991, 196-9), the original late medieval bridge appears to have been composed of two separate sections. The E section, labelled 'Ballinasloe Bridge East' on 3rd ed. of OS 6-inch map (1945), stands close to the castle. Comprised of 'at least four spans' originally (ibid., 198), it was 4.25m in width. The three surviving spans are now sandwiched between a downriver extension (Wth 4.1m), dating from 1745 (ibid.), and a modern concrete upriver addition (Wth 2.3m). The W section, now labelled 'Ballinasloe Bridge' (GA088-047001-), has also been extended downriver. It comprised four arches, all still intact, with massive (?)19th-C cutwaters on upstream side (ibid., 311). The arches on both sections are of three and four-centred design springing from wide piers. An earthwork (GA088-028----) lay c. 400m to WSW, on W bank of the river.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Updated by: Olive Alcock

Date of revised upload: 5 April 2017