Finn Bridge, also known as Annaghmullin Bridge, is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

built in 1856 that connects

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It spans the Finn River (a tributary of the

River Erne The River Erne ( , or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border. Course The Erne rises on ...

which is not to be confused with the River Finn in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

). The bridge is close to Laurel Hill, a crossroads in the west of County Monaghan that is near the villages of

Scotshouse Scotshouse () is a small agricultural village in the Civil parishes in Ireland, parish of Currin in County Monaghan, Ireland. It is roughly three miles east of where the counties of County Cavan, Cavan, County Fermanagh, Fermanagh and Monaghan m ...

(in County Monaghan) and Redhills (in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

). Finn Bridge is a

border crossing Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

between the Republic and the North. It was used by Gardaí, RUC and also the Irish and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

armies during "

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

". The bridge was closed to vehicles in the 1970s, when the British Army fixed concrete pillars onto the middle of it. This was intended to prevent the IRA from moving easily between the two areas. The only way across was by walking through the gaps between the pillars. Since the

Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political develop ...

, the bridge has been reopened to vehicular traffic. The bridge is on one of a small number of road routes used to access Drummully (also known as Coleman's Island or 'the Sixteen Townlands'), a pene-enclave of County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland which is accessible by road only via County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.

References

Bridges in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in County Monaghan Bridges in Northern Ireland {{NorthernIreland-bridge-struct-stub