Ballymacar bridge

Dear Editor,

Ballymacar bridge will soon become an irritating hiccup for traffic speeding from Waterford to Dublin or Rosslare. It is a pity if it is no more than that, because that bridge deserves at least a footnote in the social and political history of south-west Wexford.

In early times it was the first bridged crossing of the large stream that protected the town of Ross on its northern flank, and even centuries later stopped the ‘98 men attacking the town on its most vulnerable side – they had to ford the stream at the Rocky Road and come in through the Irishtown and face the guns there.

There was a blacksmiths’ forge by Ballymacar bridge, so it always was a social gathering place (cards were played in the blacksmith’s house, known as Kit the Gows – Gow was a Gaelic word for a blacksmith); skittles in the crossroad itself, and probably dancing as well.

The ‘98 men from Carrickbyrne crossed there, and there is a local tradition that they were blessed at the bridge by the local parish priest, whose house near the bridge still stands, though now as a cattle shed.

Over a century later the lorries of the British forces, Black-and Tans and Auxiliaries, were abruptly stopped by trees across the road at the bridge as they hurtled down Begerin Hill. (They tended to rough up the local people in revenge - an early example in how to win hearts and minds).

The stream itself deserves a word, because it is a special natural treasure. It connects by way of the Barrow to the open sea, so it gives a home to migrating fish - eels, lampreys, even salmon.

It is a haven also for native fish, especially brown trout and the fascinating stickleback with its curious domestic arrangements (the little male builds a nest and rears his young, fighting off much bigger predators, while his wife takes a holiday). Further down its course there is Nappers’ Pond, which has given endless pleasure to the children of Ross. The little river has no cash value, but really it, and the countless other freshwater streams of Ireland, are worth more than any medieval castle or big house and should not be damaged either by agricultural pollution or lifeless culverts. Yours,

Jack Rowe