Claragh Bridge railings to be restored

The restarted works will now be take effect, with the road closed to traffic to facilitate the repairs from next Monday, September 7, until 8am on Saturday, November 21.

Cavan County Council has confirmed that it is to retain the original iron lattice railings on Claragh Bridge near Tullyvin.

The repair to be carried out following an assessment by a qualified conservation architect who recently surveyed the site.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the Council said that the unique feature will be removed from the bridge and “taken away to a workshop for repair and then re-installed in situ.”

The repair is expected to last several weeks, during which time the Council is set to restart its plans to carry out emergency repair to the Claddagh Bridge, which had been scheduled last month, but halted after concerns from locals over the plan were highlighted.

The restarted works will now be take effect, with the road closed to traffic to facilitate the repairs from next Monday, September 7, until 8am on Saturday, November 21.

The closure order includes weekends.

“Cavan County Council wishes to confirm that the original iron lattice railing on Claragh Bridge will be retained as part of necessary bridge rehabilitation works. The railing will be repaired in accordance with a conservation architects method statement. To that end, the lattice railing will be taken away to a workshop for repair and then re-installed in situ,” says the statement issued by Cavan County Council.

Built in 1858, the triple-span flat-backed bridge over the Dromore River, has stood the test of time.

The bridge, with distinctive abutments and unique lattice metal guardrails, was attached to the Clement's Estate of Ashfield close to Cootehill.

Along with Cavan, the family had an extensive property portfolio including Abbotstown, Co Dublin, and an estate in Leitrim.

However, the bridge has seen better days. Now overgrown with ivy and heavily rusted, safety concerns saw the bridge earmarked for an upgrade under the 2020 €15.1 million roads programme.

Claragh Bridge, an impressive example of an nineteenth century bridge building, was one of more than a dozen listed for improvement works alongside those in Cloggy, Drumgoon, Bellavalley Lower, Larah, Tunnyduff, Paddock, Parkers Bridge No. 2 (L3539), Clontygrigny, Daly's Bridge (L7081), Cornacarrow, Derrygarra, One Tree Cross, and Knappagh.