(Warning - This story does not include any Irish food!)
About 25 years ago, I bought a print of a castle, set in a frame mount, in Kenny’s Bookshop in Galway. Having been born and grown up in Donegal Town, I instantly recognised the scene in the print. It depicted O'Donnell's Castle, which sat beside the river Eske right outside our front door at Waterloo Place. What was unusual about the picture was that a bridge crossed the river from behind the castle across to Waterloo Place, not where the bridge is now. A signature, Lewis, was visible in the corner of the picture.
 |
| The Print of Donegal Castle that I bought in Kenny's Bookshop, Galway |
My father, Vincent Gallagher, was a printer, and from a very young age we grew up learning about type styles and mechanical printing, long before there was anything like PageMaker or Microsoft Publisher. I knew by the impression of the writing and the font type, that the print was quite old. So I bought this lithographic print, for £30.
 |
| Taylor and Skinner Maps of the Road of Ireland 1777 showing the bridge crossing the river to Bridge End |
As a boy, I had been told that there was once a bridge that crossed over from behind the castle to Waterloo Place and that the main road to Mountcharles and Killybegs ran on from end of the bridge, straight up Meetinghouse Street where the Forge Pub is now. However, the late Eileen McBrearty (previous owner of the Forge pub) had always insisted that the old name for that road and hill was "Bridge End". In fact, the Forge pub was formerly known as "The Bridge End Bar".
 |
| The printed writing on the back of my Print |
When I got back home, I opened up the mount to see what the writing on the back of the print was. It was part of a narrative account of the history of the O'Donnells and also about a plot by Sir John Perrott to capture the young Red Hugh O'Donnell in 1587. It was fascinating to read, although incomplete, and the paper and ink type pointed towards the document being well over 100 years old. The print had the words "Donegal Castle" printed under it. This was also the first representation of an older bridge crossing the River Eske that I'd ever seen. So I put it in a frame and it's been hanging on my wall ever since... until covid-lockdown-3 came along!
 |
| Copy of The Dublin Saturday Magazine from the collated collection printed in 1865 |
In January 2021, I decided to clean the inside of the glass of the frame. When I took out the print I noticed a piece of the paper which was taped to the mount and was folded over itself. I gently took it off the mount and unfolded the paper. There, at the top of the print was a torn magazine title. There was enough visible to be able to make out the name "The Dublin Saturday Magazine" with "Vol.1, No.14, Price One Penny", printed under it.
And so began a few months of research into the origin of the print and the authenticity of the picture showing the bridge.
 |
| Title Page of the Dublin Saturday Magazine Volume 1. |
As my print had the words "Vol.1, Price One Penny, No.14" printed on it, this indicates that the original individual weekly magazines were printed separately, before this 1865 compilation book. I managed to access and download a full copy of this Dublin Saturday Magazine, Volume 1. This therefore dates my print of the castle and the old bridge to at least 156 years old.
Each of these magazines consisted of stories and news from around Ireland and historical accounts, with lithographic prints and an attached descriptive article. I have no idea how my print came to arrive in a mounted frame in a bookshop in Galway, but it had definitely come from an original Dublin Saturday Magazine.
I decided to look for any information on that original bridge that crossed the river Eske, from behind the O'Donnell Castle and I uncovered some interesting drawings, maps and descriptions.
My print was signed "Lewis" with "S.L." also inscribed in the left hand side of the bridge. I uncovered that a cartographer and publisher named Samuel Lewis had travelled around Ireland in the early 1800s, writing and drawing maps and sketches for "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland", which was published in Two Volumes, in 1837. Was it possible that this drawing for the magazine was done by Lewis or maybe taken from an earlier sketch of the scene?
 |
| A Description of entering Donegal Town by Richard Twiss in "A tour in Ireland in 1775" note: "where there is a tolerable bridge of six arches" |
In 1775,
Richard Twiss, in his guide book "A Tour in Ireland in 1775", wrote
"I then went to Raphoe, and traversing bogs and mountains arrived at
Donegal, where there is a "tolerable bridge of six arches, and a large ruined
castle." In 1777 Taylor and Skinner compiled a "Road Map of
Ireland" with drawings showing the bridge crossing the river Eske at the
rear of the castle.
 |
| Part of the Griffiths Valuation map and Donegal Town Plan, c.1860 which shows the two bridges in situ at the same time. |
According
to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage , the existing
"three-arch road bridge over the River Eske, was built c. 1855, having a
footpath extension to the south elevation added c. 1975" and
"replaced an earlier six-arch bridge, which was located adjacent to the
north-east of the present structure. Both bridges appear to have co-existed for
a period c. 1860" (earlier bridge indicated above as 'old bridge' on the Griffiths
Valuation map and Town Plan, c.1860. This makes sense as they would have still have had to use the old bridge while the new bridge was being built.) The location and style of this earlier bridge
also suggests that it may have also replaced an even older bridge dating to the pre-1700 period.
The 1837 First Edition 6" Map by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland shows the approach to the original bridge from Bridge Street, carrying on straight behind the castle, the bridge crossing the river and the road continuing up Meetinghouse Street (previously known as Bridge End) and on towards Mountcharles. The road goes straight through the land on which the outbuildings behind the Methodist Church now stands and therefore gives credence to the old name of Bridge End, for that part of the town. It also shows a Salmon Weir crossing the river, to the north side of the castle.
 |
| pre-1855 Donegal Bridge as shown on the 6 inch OSI map First Edition c.1837 |
The
approach to the bridge from the centre of town shows the road coming down
Bridge Street and turning in behind the Castle grounds, going straight through
where the parallelogram-shaped building (which incorporates Julies Beauty
Salon) now stands. This building was only built after the new bridge of 1855
was finished and is so shaped because of the space available due to the road
turning to the approach of the new bridge.
 |
| Fish Market shown on the left side at Bridge Street, Donegal Town c.1837 |
On the
1837 map, there are no buildings on the left hand side of Bridge Street from
Kearney’s building (recently the Tattoo Shop) down to the end of the present
bridge. The terrace of buildings which includes Henderson’s, The Scotsman’s, La
Bella Donna and The Reel Inn were all built at the same time, in c1860, after
the new bridge was finished. Before that time, this whole area, from
Henderson’s Hardware down to the rear of the Castle is shown as a vacant space
with a low wall around it and described on this map as a "Fish
Market".
 |
| The Old Methodist Church in Donegal Town which is now the complete ground floor of the Masonic Hall |
In
researching, I discovered that before the Methodist Church was built at its
present location, it was located on the site where the Masonic Lodge stands
today. On the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage website it states
that "The present Methodist chapel in Donegal Town replaced an earlier one
in the town which was located at the corner of Waterloo Place and New Row a
short distance to the north-east of the present edifice on the site now
occupied by the Masonic Hall". I discovered maps and photographs that
show the original building, with a hipped roof, that was the old Methodist
church.
 |
| Old Bridge and Castle Drawing showing Stepping Stones c1820 |
When I was growing up in Waterloo Place, the old neighbours used to talk of a second wooden bridge situated to the western side of the now present Iron Bridge. I found a lithographic print dated from 1820, in the National Library of Ireland, which depicts the old six arch bridge crossing from behind the castle and also shows Stepping Stones crossing the river on the northern side of the castle, one of which is still can be seen standing in the river today.
 |
| Donegal Castle 1838 showing foot bridge and old bridge. Note that the Church of Ireland seen to the left background was built between 1825-1828. |
However,
on another lithographic print I found in the National Library, dated 1838, it
shows the old six arch bridge but also shows another smaller bridge made up of
stone built stanchions with a wooden deck raised simply to road level. In this
exact same position on the 1837 Ordnance Survey map, a structure is also shown
here and is identified as a "Salmon Weir".
As a young boy growing up in this area of town, I was aware of the "lay of the land" around the castle and was also very aware of the existence, once, of this walkway bridge. You can still see the remains of this today. If you walk down to Waterloo Place, stand at the river wall opposite the second house back from the bottom of the Iron Bridge steps, facing the Castle. Look down over the river wall and you will see a stone-built abutment, (which is a structure built "to support the lateral pressure of an arch or span, e.g. at the ends of a bridge") which comes up to just below the present road level. There are small bushes growing on it now but you can see that it is built up about 2 metres up from the river bed. If you look straight across to the castle-side of the river parallel to this structure (and behind the newer-built water and sewerage scheme inspection manhole) you can see a similar abutment, topped with grass and bushes, which would have been the other side of this walk-bridge.
This walk bridge would have given a short-cut access from the Town centre to New Row, before the Iron Bridge was built in 1895. Another similar stone and wooden bridge was also in place on the site of the existing bridge beside Magee's factory at Water Street, would otherwise have had to been used.
 |
| "Donegal Cas, 1833, From JS Lever" from James Stark Fleming's sketchpad |
I
recently found two pencil sketches in a leather-bound notepad attributed to
James Stark Fleming, 1834-1922, an artist “who produced on-the-spot sketches
and also copied older original drawings located in the Royal Irish Academy,
Dublin”. One is a drawing of the Old Franciscan Abbey at the pier here in
Donegal Town, showing many of parts of the building that are no longer
standing. The other of these drawings is exactly the same as my print, except
it is signed in James Stark Fleming's handwriting as "Donegal Cas, 1833, From JS
Lever".
 |
| Donegal Castle c1800 by Unknown Artist with old bridge in sketchbook in the Royal Irish Academy |
Then, I
found in the National Library of Ireland, an older and similar drawing, showing
the castle and bridge (but with even more of the old castle wall to the
gate-house to be seen) as part of a Sketchbook of "Fifty sketches of
antiquities and landscapes in various parts of Ireland. Includes castles,
abbeys, cathedrals and ruins", created at some time between 1770-1830, but
the artist is unknown.
These are pencil sketches that were later used to produce more completed drawings and engravings and it is plain to see that they form the basis for my print, signed "Lewis", which was represented in the Saturday Dublin Magazine. Was the SL Lewis signature actually a JS Lever signature misinterpreted? I do not know.
When the present stone bridge was built, a new road was cut in, creating the triangular "Green" where the Red Shed stands, to give more direct access to the new bridge from the Mountcharles Road. The Methodist Church acquired the land at the end of the old bridge to built a new church, a three-bay double-height over basement church, built between 1857 and 1859, on its existing site.
 |
| My reconstructed representation of the old stone six arch bridge that crossed the River Eske from behind the Castle, as it would have been pre-1855. |
I finally decided to create an image showing a representation of what this old six arch bridge and this part of Donegal Town may have looked like before the 1855 bridge was built. Using photography, computer design, watercolour paints and with thanks to Richard Cave and Nuala Toland, it is completed and I am delighted with the finished drawing, shown in the last image here.
This has been an exciting journey of research and discovery which now adds yet another little layer to the recorded history of Donegal Town.
Zack.
