“Begin”
Begin again to the summoning birds
to the sight of the light at the window,
…
Every beginning is a promise
born in light and dying in dark
by Brenden Kennelly
Architecture Ireland Publishes Dungloe Design Vision
Dungloe is a Gaeltacht town. The origins of the town date back to 1762 when the bridge was built. Gaeilgeoirí however have proudly held onto its Irish name ‘An Clochán Liath’. The name means ‘grey stepping-stones’; the means by which the river was crossed prior to the bridge being built. The Irish name conjures up a picture of a place that might have been. The importance and worth of river crossings are signified within Brehon law which stipulated that the honour price of building a clochán such as this was two cows.
We propose a new set of stepping stones; an intervention which references the historic origins of the town and becomes the starting point for connecting Main Street with its river, the bay, the loughs, and onwards towards a tidal bathing pool known locally as ‘The Pond’.
