Discovered during the Donegal Main Drainage scheme in 2002, this structure offers a tantalising glimpse into the infrastructure that once connected the castle to the surrounding landscape. Built from carefully cut limestone blocks originally held together with mortar, the pier represents the kind of sturdy engineering that characterised medieval and post-medieval construction in Ireland.

Time hasn’t been kind to this ancient crossing point. The mortar that once bound the limestone blocks has largely crumbled away, leaving the structure vulnerable to the elements. Tree roots have invaded the stonework over the centuries, forcing apart the blocks and leaving the entire pier in a precarious state. Archaeological monitoring carried out under excavation licence 02E0851 documented the structure’s fragile condition, noting how nature has slowly reclaimed what human hands once built.

The bridge pier sits in the townland of Mullans, within the parish of Drumcliff in County Donegal. Whilst the exact date of the bridge remains uncertain, its proximity to Donegal Castle suggests it may have played an important role in the castle’s defensive network or served as a crucial river crossing for the local community. Today, this crumbling limestone structure serves as a quiet reminder of the medieval town’s once-thriving infrastructure, preserved only through careful archaeological documentation before it potentially disappears entirely.