Ballinatray Bridge, near Courtown, one of highest bridges in Ireland, could soon be a tourism attraction if a proposed footbridge is built alongside.

Wexford County Council is considering the feasibility of building a new footbridge over the Ounavarragh river, at Ballinatray, about a kilometre from Courtown, that would accommodate a footpath from Gorey to Courtown, which is being constructed in stages.
The matter came under consideration at the March meeting of Gorey Municipal District Council and there is strong support for the proposal. The question under serious consideration is two-fold; what type of bridge is preferred and how much is the council prepared to spend in a modern structure?
Cllr Malcolm Byrne believes that there is a need “to come up with something completely unique and different.”; Cllr Fionntán Ó Suilleabháin supported “a public input in the consultation process,” and Cllr Mary Farrell said the people of Courtown need to be involved in local matters and should be consulted.
Cllr Pip Breen indicated that what Courtown needs is “something that is practical, easily maintained, and safe, and it will be a huge tourist attraction for the area.”
Executive Engineer Neville Shaw asked that a design be agreed, “the cost could be €150,000 upwards, the sky is the limit in terms of the budget and the size of the structure.”
The new foot bridge would complement architectural history that is generally hidden from public view except for those who use the walking trail amenity in Courtown Wood.
A work relief scheme organised by Lord Courtown in 1846 for the benefit of the starving poor consisted of drainage and the construction of a road southwards from Ballymoney crossroads to join Gorey and Courtown Harbour road.
In 1847, the present three-arch bridge at Ballinatray, once known as the Courtown Viaduct and at the time, the highest stone bridge in the country.
Ballinatray Bridge is a 19th century civil engineering feat designed by James Barry Farrell, (1810-1893), who was the County Surveyor, and other similarly amazing works by him can be admired at Carrigmannon, (1844), near Killurin, and Corbally Bridge (1854) on the Enniscorthy to Oulart Road.
And for the record, Farrell was involved in the design of St Senan’s Hospital, near Enniscorthy, built in the 1860’s and now closed as a hospital and in private ownership.