New exhibition on the bridges of Athlone

A special exhibition celebrating the Bridges of Athlone is to be launched next week.

The exhibition, the brainchild of the Westmeath Culture Team at Westmeath County Council, will be launched on Tuesday, December 19, at 6.30pm in Athlone Library and runs until January 8.

In celebration of the roles bridges play in Athlone, Westmeath Arts, Heritage and Libraries developed a multidisciplinary project to shine a light on the importance of the Athlone bridges.

The project explores the cultural and social histories that connect us to our local infrastructure. Award-winning photographer Paul Moore has been capturing the beauty of Athlone’s bridges and his selected photographs will be on display accompanied by short histories which explain the relevance of the bridges to the town. Luan Academy, a local Irish dancing school will open the launch with a performance of the famous jig, The Bridges of Athlone.

The Culture team has also been working with acclaimed archaeological illustrator Conor McHale, who has been bringing the history of Athlone’s lost bridges to life in a series of comic strips and talks. Conor will give a brief overview of his work at the launch.

In October locals were invited to share their memories of the bridges through recollections and memorabilia for a radio documentary. This will be launched December 19, in conjunction with the exhibition, and later made available as a podcast.

Speaking about the launch, Westmeath County Arts Officer Miriam Mulrennan says; “This has been a very special project, and it comes at an important time for Athlone with the construction of the new Greenway Bridge over the Shannon. Athlone’s place at the heart of Ireland has long seen it as a crossroads for the county; that heritage continues now with the Greenway Bridge, which connects the country from coast to coast.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the community in Athlone to unearth some precious local social histories, and we look forward to joining with the community once more to celebrate the town’s cultural and infrastructural influence,” she said.

Heritage Officer Melanie McQuaid added; “The construction the new bridge in Athlone is an historic event. It gives us pause to reflect on how our ancestors crossed the Shannon. When was the first bridge built? What did the early bridges look like? And how were they engineered and constructed?”

This project is supported by Creative Ireland Westmeath.