archaeological & built heritage assessment - The Heritage Council

entrance to Lough Allen Canal are scarcely visible. It is also noted that a mill existed adjacent to the
bridge at this point in the 1830s however there is no visible trace of this or the millrace that passed
through the small arch of the bridge (ibid.).
A footnote in Lenihan's Histroy of Limerick records a communication by Mr. John Long, an 'eminent civil
engineer', who surveyed most of the upper reaches of the Shannon in the 1830s. He stated that “until
recently one of these wicker bridges stood over the Shannon above Carrick-on-Shannon and it was built of loose
stone piers, such as a common labourer would build, placed close to each other; some rough black oak logs thrown
across from pier to pier, and these covered with wicker work in several layers, and gravel, etc. strewn on these. It
was very frail, and the horse was unyoked from the cart, and the latter pulled across by men” (Simington &
O’Keefe 1991). The Shannon Navigation Survey of the 1830s shows that the longitudinal and traverse
sections for Plan 59, Vol. 4, Jamestown section were prepared in 1838 and the bridge referred to was the
one designated on the survey plan as 'wooden bridge' linking Drumheriff and Dereenasoo townlands in
Leitrim and Roscommon. The wooden bridge was replaced by a five-span stone arch bridge in the 1890s,
the latter located approximately 120m downstream (ibid.).
The deck of the old Drumheriff Bridge has been described as that which conforms very closely with the
construction one would expect to find on one of the twelfth century Shannon ces droichets, mentioned so
frequently in the Annals (ibid.). Given the plentiful supply of oak, both bog and fallen trees and the native
skill in wickerwork this construction type is quite likely. Overall, the evidence from the records of this
bridge is important because of the insight it gives into the traditional early form of Irish bridge on large
rivers during the late Christian period.
The embrasures of the bridge at Battlebridge are an indication of its antiquity which pre-dates the
Shannon Commissioner’s works. Although its placename suggests a battle took place here, none of note
has been traced. However, a few skirmishes did take place here and also at a number of places upstream
when General Humbert’s forces pushed east after their victory at Castlebar during the Rebellion in 1798.
Heading downstream from Battlebridge, the river is narrow and fast flowing with a number of bends, the
wooded banks making visibility difficult (Delaney 1987). Indeed, it used to be a great deal more tortuous
but the Shannon Commissioners reduced the number of bends by cutting canals across the natural curves,
creating small islands (ibid.).
Although it gives its name to the county, Leitrim is only a village. This short stretch of the river up to
Leitrim village was artificially straightened in the 1840s as part of the Ballinamore & Ballyconnell Canal
works. Downstream of the junction to Leitrim, the Shannon rapidly becomes a much larger river and the
wooded banks give way to the more characteristic open fields (ibid.). At Cloonfad, on the Roscommon
banks of the river Shannon, west of Leitrim, is Lowberry House, a seventeenth century house and a
protected structure.
Hartley bridge is located downstream, south of Leitrim village, where the navigation passes awkwardly
through a channel near the east bank. This bridge is of cultural heritage importance since it is a very early
example of the use of reinforced concrete, dating back to 1912-15. A rail type section, called a ‘moss bar’
was used as reinforcement, the parapets act as beams, spanning between the supports, and the bridge was
constructed to extend out over the floodplain on the west side (ibid.). Consultation with the Road Design
office in Leitrim County Council has confirmed that there are proposals in place to remove Hartley bridge
following an assessment on its condition. Presently there are weight restrictions on the bridge and its
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