Wattlebridge (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Droichead na nGad'' Logainm.ie: Droichead na nGad / Wattlebridge. https://www.logainm.ie/en/130664), sometimes written as Wattle Bridge, is a small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the south-south-east of

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. ''Discoverer Series'' Sheet 27 (Edition F). O.S.N.I.,

Land and Property Services The Land and Property Services (LPS, ga, Seirbhísí Talún & Maoine) is an agency of the Department of Finance of the Northern Ireland Executive. The agency, created in 2008, includes the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland {{Unreferenced, dat ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, 2019. Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 146. The Institute of Irish Studies,

The Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, Belfast, 1999. The hamlet is located almost 3½ miles (around 5.5

kilometres The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ...

) south of the village of

Newtownbutler Newtownbutler or Newtown Butler is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the southeast corner of the county, near Lough Erne, the border with County Monaghan, and the town of Clones. It is surrounded by small lakes and ...

. The hamlet is in a region known unofficially as South

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. Wattlebridge is very close to Fermanagh's boundary with both

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

and

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

, the hamlet being just north of the border between Northern Ireland and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. The Finn River flows through the hamlet, the river entering Upper

Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...

a short distance to the west of Wattlebridge. S.A.B.R.E.: B533 (Northern Ireland). https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=B533_(Northern_Ireland) The Wattlebridge Road (the B533), part of the main road between

Cavan Town Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ball ...

and

Lisnaskea Lisnaskea () is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and the ...

, runs via Wattlebridge. This road joins the Cavan Road (often known locally as 'the Concession Road'), part of the A3, at a junction on the southern edge of the hamlet. The A3 becomes the N54 at the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of Leggykelly in County Cavan, this townland being very close to Wattlebridge. The Cavan Road, or 'the Concession Road', part of the N54 / A3, is the main Cavan Town to

Clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

road. Immediately to the east and north-east of Wattlebridge is

Drummully Drummully or Drumully ( ga, Droim Ailí; "rocky ridge") is an electoral division (ED) in the west of County Monaghan in Ireland. Known as the Sixteen Townlands to locals and as Coleman's Island or the Clonoony salient ; to the security for ...

, a small district also known as 'the Sixteen Townlands' or 'Coleman's Island'. 'Rededication of Connons church' (''

The Anglo-Celt ''The Anglo-Celt'' () is a weekly local newspaper published every Thursday in Swellan, Cavan, Ireland, founded in 1846. It exclusively contains local news about Cavan and surroundings. The news coverage of the paper is mainly based on the pape ...

'', Wednesday, 12 August 2009). https://www.anglocelt.ie/2009/08/12/rededication-of-connons-church/ Drummully is a '

pene-enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

' of County Monaghan, being almost completely surrounded by County Fermanagh. The N54 / A3 passes through Drummully. Around half a mile to the west of Wattlebridge is

Castle Saunderson Castle Saunderson ( ga, Caisleán Shandarsan) is a castle near Belturbet in County Cavan, Ireland. It was the former family seat of the Saunderson family, and is now in ruins. The Finn River flows along the north-eastern edge of the Castle Sau ...

, a now ruined

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

in County Cavan. Barbara Chapman, ''A History of Newtownbutler'', p. 30. Nonsuch Publishing, Lower

Leeson Street __NOTOC__ Leeson Street (; ) is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland. Location The street is divided into two parts by the Grand Canal: Lower Leeson Street, in Dublin 2 is to the north of the canal, linking to St Stephen's Green, with ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 2005. The '

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

' is located on the Castle Saunderson

Demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

and is separated from County Fermanagh by the Finn River. The current Castle Saunderson was largely built in the late 1770s or early 1780s, being expanded and heavily remodeled in the 1830s. The hamlet straddles two

townlands A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

: Edergool, which lies on the northern bank of the Finn River, and Annaghmore Glebe, which lies on the southern bank of the Finn River. Barbara Chapman, ''A History of Newtownbutler'', p. 27. Nonsuch Publishing, Lower

, 2005. Townlands.ie: Annaghmore Glebe Townland, Co. Fermanagh. https://www.townlands.ie/fermanagh/coole/drummully/derrysteaton/annaghmore-glebe/ Edergool townland is usually known locally as Wattlebridge townland.

Name

The hamlet of Wattlebridge gets its name from the original bridge that spanned the Finn River at this point. This original bridge may have been built in the sixteenth century, and was made of wattle, the bridge being supported by stakes called 'gads'. Dúchas.ie: 'Battle of Wattlebridge' (account recorded at the Fairgreen School,

Belturbet Belturbet (; ) is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It lies on the N3 road, around north of Cavan town and from Dublin. It is also located around south of the border with Northern Ireland, between the counties of Cavan and Fermanagh, and fr ...

, for the National Folklore Collection; in this account, Wattlebridge has been misspelled as 'Watterbridge'). https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5086706/5041260/5086798?ChapterID=5086706 The current bridge, which is known as Wattle Bridge or Wattlebridge Bridge, is built from stone and probably stands on or very near the site of the original bridge. The Wattlebridge Road, the B533, runs over this bridge.

References

{{County Fermanagh Villages in County Fermanagh

Name

See also

References