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Border Crossings.

The older generation will remember when all the border crossing were open and the ‘unapproved roads’ were used to get places faster and to smuggle some goods across. If you went the main road you had to stamp your vehicle into the North and get it stamped again on the way out. If you were going to cross outside of opening hours you had to ‘make a request’ so that there would be a custom man at the Free State post to stamp you back in - otherwise you jumped in and jumped out again but it was no use jumping one way as your book would show if you were stamped in and not stamped out.

The during the troubles these ‘unapproved crossings’ were blown up and huge concrete bollards placed to stop people getting across. Many attempts were made to re-open them and crowds spent Sunday afternoons filling in the craters and moving the bollards. Over some of the crossings the NI authorities placed walk-bridges to accommodate local pedestrians.

Since the peace process got under weay many of the Border Crossings have been restored with new bridges. Many of these are concrete structures like at Moybridge and indeed like the bridge over the main road at the bottom of Emyvale village. The beautiful old stone-work of the former bridges has been lost for ever and that craftsmanship is now almost an unknown skill. The old bridges blended in with nature whereas the modern materials are out of place in a rural Ireland setting.

At the moment Knockaginny bridge is being built and will be re-opened in a couple of months time. The one remaining bridge - the one at Annaghroe will be next we are told though there have been objections to this work being done. Below we show the current work at Knockaginny and the present state of the crossing at Annaghroe.

Knockaginny - courtesy Philip Fitzpatrick.