The Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge (informally called the Peace Bridge or Aghalane Bridge) is a road bridge across the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It carries the A509 / N3 road between Enniskillen in County Fermanagh and Cavan in County Cavan. The bridge spans the Woodford River (Irish: Sruth Gráinne, meaning 'the Gravelly Stream' or 'the Gravelly River', sometimes anglicised as the River Gráinne or the Graine River).
The statue to the south of the bridge
Old bridgeedit
The bridge replaces an earlier structure to the east, known as Aghalane Bridge, carrying an 'approved road' over the border with formal custom patrols.[1] Aghalane Bridge was named after Aghalane (Irish: Achadh Leathan, meaning 'Broad Field'), a townland on the County Fermanagh side.[2] This older bridge, which also spanned the Woodford River, was destroyed on 21 November 1972 by Ulster Loyalists during The Troubles. No paramilitary group has ever claimed responsibility for the bombing.[3]
It was quickly replaced by a temporary bridge, but following the detonation of a bomb in the nearby market town of Belturbet the following month, the British Government decided to leave the bridge in a state of disrepair and demolish the temporary structure.[4] The lack of a crossing cut off access to farmland in southern Fermanagh from Belturbet. Local traffic had to undertake a 12-mile (19 km) detour, severing communities and leading to economic decline in the area, with many businesses in Belturbet closing.[5]
New bridgeedit
The current bridge opened in April 1999. It is 30 metres (98 ft) long, with 15 metres (49 ft) in County Fermanagh and the remainder in County Cavan, and was named after the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, George J. Mitchell, who acted as chairman in the Irish peace process talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement the previous year.[6] Of the proposed £1,930,720 cost, £1,061,250 was pledged to be funded by the EU Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.[3][5] There is a statue near the bridge on the County Cavan side commemorating the peace process, with the inscription "Peace For All".[7][8]
Referencesedit
^"Northern Ireland Border Bridge Explosion". Hansard. 21 December 1972. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
senator, george, mitchell, peace, bridge, confused, with, peace, bridge, foyle, informally, called, peace, bridge, aghalane, bridge, road, bridge, across, border, northern, ireland, republic, ireland, carries, a509, road, between, enniskillen, county, fermanag. Not to be confused with Peace Bridge Foyle The Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge informally called the Peace Bridge or Aghalane Bridge is a road bridge across the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland It carries the A509 N3 road between Enniskillen in County Fermanagh and Cavan in County Cavan The bridge spans the Woodford River Irish Sruth Grainne meaning the Gravelly Stream or the Gravelly River sometimes anglicised as the River Grainne or the Graine River The statue to the south of the bridgeOld bridge editThe bridge replaces an earlier structure to the east known as Aghalane Bridge carrying an approved road over the border with formal custom patrols 1 Aghalane Bridge was named after Aghalane Irish Achadh Leathan meaning Broad Field a townland on the County Fermanagh side 2 This older bridge which also spanned the Woodford River was destroyed on 21 November 1972 by Ulster Loyalists during The Troubles No paramilitary group has ever claimed responsibility for the bombing 3 It was quickly replaced by a temporary bridge but following the detonation of a bomb in the nearby market town of Belturbet the following month the British Government decided to leave the bridge in a state of disrepair and demolish the temporary structure 4 The lack of a crossing cut off access to farmland in southern Fermanagh from Belturbet Local traffic had to undertake a 12 mile 19 km detour severing communities and leading to economic decline in the area with many businesses in Belturbet closing 5 New bridge editThe current bridge opened in April 1999 It is 30 metres 98 ft long with 15 metres 49 ft in County Fermanagh and the remainder in County Cavan and was named after the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland George J Mitchell who acted as chairman in the Irish peace process talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement the previous year 6 Of the proposed 1 930 720 cost 1 061 250 was pledged to be funded by the EU Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation 3 5 There is a statue near the bridge on the County Cavan side commemorating the peace process with the inscription Peace For All 7 8 References edit Northern Ireland Border Bridge Explosion Hansard 21 December 1972 Retrieved 2 June 2016 Patrick McKay 1999 A Dictionary of Ulster Place Names The Institute of Irish Studies The Queen s University of Belfast p 1 ISBN 978 0 853 89742 2 a b Adam Ingram 30 March 1999 Aghalane Bridge Hansard Retrieved 1 June 2016 British favoured closing Aghalane Bridge BBC News 28 December 2012 Retrieved 1 June 2016 a b Border bridge reunites communities BBC News 8 June 2004 Retrieved 1 June 2016 Crossing the divide European Commission January 2001 Retrieved 1 June 2016 Memorials and commemoration Borderlands Queen Mary University of London Retrieved 1 June 2016 N3 Google Maps Retrieved 2 June 2016 54 07 21 N 7 28 54 W 54 12237 N 7 48164 W 54 12237 7 48164 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge amp oldid 1173141656, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
