Gathering in Saltmills marks bicentenary of Tintern Bridge
MORE THAN 350 people gathered in Saltmills recently to mark the bicentenary of the construction of Tintern Bridge.
Organised by the Saltmills and St. Kearns Community Group the event saw 200 bright lanterns released into the Ban river as residents and visitors to Saltmills watched on. Positioned on one of the main routes from Wellingtonbridge to Fethard-on-Sea and the Hook, the hump-backed bridge has provided locals with access across the Ban river (also known as Tintern river) from penal times, through famine and wars. From eighteenth century children attending the school in the Tintern Parochial Hall to rival GAA teams, the bridge has brought generations of people together and also witnessed many leave Saltmills for pastures new.
On October 1, Pat Caulfield brought attendees on a guided walking tour which finished at the bridge where piper Ned Wall accompanied the walkers to mark the start of the bicentennial celebrations. Following a blessing of the bridge at a specially re-instated `Mass Rock’, a commemorative tree-planting ceremony took place. Echoing the past and flotilla of schooners, gravel boats and ketches that used to sail around Bannow and St. Kearns, rowers from the St. Kearns rowing club launched a flotilla of 200 eco-friendly water lanterns to float down the river from Tintern Abbey, under Tintern bridge and out to sea.
Refreshments were provided in the Colclough Memorial Hall where a raffle took place raising over €2,000 towards a defibrillator for Tintern Bridge.
Kate Murphy, Chairperson of the Saltmills and St. Kearns Community Group, said: `It was a great day and a fantastic success. The sun was out and people really got behind the fundraiser one day after a local man had to be helicoptered to Cork having suffered a heart attack. As well as the events on the day, we felt that reinstating the Mass Rock was a fitting reminder of the rich history linked to our community and the surrounding areas.’