Leenane Bridge offcially opened

The people of Leenane living on opposite sides of the Leenane River have been firmly reunited almost two years after the village bridge was washed away in a storm. Locals and tourists in Leenane, Galway have been using a temporary bridge since the stone structure, built in 1822, was swept away in torrential rains in July 2007.

For two weeks in the summer of 2007 motorists had to take detours of up to 100 kilometres just to get to opposite ends of the village, which gained global recognition in 1989 for the film version of John B Keane’s play The Field. The disruption over the past two years is estimated to have cost the local tourist industry a large amount of money, but yesterday the village’s new €1.65 million bridge was officially opened.