Bridge across the River Foyle at Lifford - geograph

Lifford Bridge (in Irish ''Droichead Leifear'') is a cross-border

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 ...

on the A38 connecting with the N15, spanning the

River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...

which marks the border between

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

, Northern Ireland, and

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

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 ...

in the Republic of Ireland. It remains a vital part of the trans-border route from the North, West and East of

, to Dublin via

History

Lifford came into the possession of Sir Richard Hansard during the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

in 1607. One of the conditions of his grant was that a ferry crossing be provided over the River Finn. This service continued until 1730 when the first bridge linking Lifford and Strabane was built. In the 19th century a curious custom existed when if, by the end of the

Assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

in Lifford Courthouse or Omagh Courthouse, a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in a case, they were sent to the "verge" of the county to be dismissed. In the case of counties Donegal and Tyrone, this was the middle of the Lifford Bridge. The present bridge was constructed by engineering company Farrans in 1964, jointly funded by

Donegal County Council Donegal County Council () is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The ...

and the old Tyrone County Council.

Strabane District Council Strabane District Council (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Stràbane Destrìck Cooncil'') was a local council in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland established by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. It merged with Derry City ...

took over the functions of Tyrone County Council in part of West Tyrone in 1973. The overall length of the bridge is 115m. In 2005 it carried some 16,000 vehicles a day. 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 ...

in 1968, an attempt was made to blow the bridge up. However, it was closed for only a short time. In 2005 refurbishment of the bridge took place and included upgrading the parapet railings, installation of safety kerbing and railings, resurfacing of the carriageway deck and footways, upgrading streetlights. Over £400,000 was spent on the project.

References

{{coord, 54, 49, 52, N, 7, 28, 49, W, type:landmark, display=title Bridges completed in 1964 Bridges in the Republic of Ireland Bridges in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Donegal Buildings and structures in County Tyrone

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 ...

Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border crossings