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| CROMWELL'S BRIDGE, GLENGARRIFF, CO. CORK. -The noted ruin spans the Coomhela river near the village of Glenfarriff, on the road to Berehaven. Why it is called Cromwell's Bridge history does not explain, and it is more than doubtful if the English Attila - considered solely in his relation to Ireland - ever saw the structure which bears his formidable name. The pleasant Mrs. S. C. Hall, however, in her narrative of a tour through Ireland, says: "When Oliver was passing through the glen to visit the O'Sullivans, he has so much trouble getting across the narrow but rushing river, that he told the inhabitants if they did not build him a bridge by the time he returned, he would hang up a man for every hour's delay he met with. 'So the bridge was ready agin he came back' quoth our (her) informant, 'for they knew the ould villain to be a man of his word!'" Near the bridge is the splendid demesne of Lord Bantry, which is considered one of the most picturesque in Ireland. Art has done much to make it beautiful, but nature even more. The rapid river that runs through the spacious grounds is spanned at intervals of a few hundred yards by artistic rustic bridges, and wild deer are plentiful in the finely wooded park. The view from every part of the demesne is superb. |
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