Ancient Letterkenny bridge in danger of collapse claims Mary T Sweeney

As controversy continues over traffic gridlock in Letterkenny and never-ending road works with potential detriment to trade in the town, Donegal Aontú representative, Mary T. Sweeney has raised mounting concerns over varying degrees of deterioration on different elements of Oldtown bridge.

She claims multiple residents have alerted her to the dangerous state and safety of the bridge, with fears that extra traffic in this part of the town could acerbate its collapse.

"For too long Letterkenny has put up with an inadequate road infrastructure system, and a long-standing proposal for a link over the River Swilly from Ballyraine to Bonagee to relieve congestion has failed to materialise.

"In fact, traffic flow is now so slow that the only efficient mode of transport to get around town during rush hour would be by helicopter!”

In light of this, Ms Sweeney said the Oldtown bridge remains "extremely important" for the locality.

"The Oldtown bridge is carrying much of the diverted traffic across the river at the bottom end of Letterkenny. Due to tailbacks, heavy freight vehicles and buses frequently have to sit on the centre of the bridge causing extra stress on the structure.

"The upper part of the bridge is now clearly damaged with visible cracks in the stonework. The capstones on top were knocked off at least six months ago and no effort has been made to repair them.

"Also one arch of this three-arched bridge is totally blocked by debris. This is putting additional pressure on the two supporting piers and escalating erosion of the foundations and banks of the River Swilly.”

“Three years ago Aontú held a public meeting to allow local residents to raise their concerns about the deteriorating condition and traffic bottleneck at the Oldtown bridge. This was well attended by all political parties,” she said.

No satisfactory response

However, Mary T. stated there has been no satisfactory response, despite participating in a presentation to Donegal County Council in October 2019 regarding the bridge.

“Since then, there has been substantial growth in the population on the Oldtown side of the Swilly due to the construction of new housing estates.

"As the Aontú representative for Donegal, I am calling on Donegal County Council to immediately allocate funding towards the urgent upgrade of the Oldtown bridge. This centuries-old bridge cannot bear the burden of modern freight and traffic. I have genuine fears there could be a sudden collapse. Please let’s fix the bridge now before we have a tragedy on our hands.”

She also highlighted the need to give proper recognition of Oldtown bridge’s historical significance and the potential to develop the immediate neighbourhood as a tourist attraction.

“I’m asking Donegal County Council to consider commissioning a sculpture to remember the Gaelic chieftains O’Donnell and O’Neill and their followers who crossed here in 1607, en route to Rathmullan where they departed Ireland’s shores to avoid the clutches of a hostile Crown—a historical event forever known as The Flight of the Earls. Back then, this vicinity was the main gateway from the south of Ireland into North Donegal.”

Ms Sweeney added: “Furthermore, we should never forget the 53 native Irish who suffered execution by drowning at Oldtown bridge during the 1641 Rebellion. This ghastly local affair was mentioned in Westminster by The Great Liberator, Daniel O'Connell when he presented a dossier of such atrocities against the native Irish.

“We mustn’t turn our backs on the development of the River Swilly in our town. The erection of a sculpture reflecting our history would be a fantastic centrepiece for the streetscape of the Oldtown area and a catalyst for further improvements.

"The idea of a waterfront development has been mooted in the Letterkenny Town Plan as far back as 2009. Why has it not happened? It seems the current crop of councillors are showing no real drive to push through good ideas that would benefit the Oldtown area,” added the Aontú local election candidate hopeful.