About Sixmilebridge Village

Sixmilebridge (Irish: Droichead Abhann Ui gCearnaigh) is a village in County Clare, Ireland, population 2,500 (Approx). Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road, being on the old "back road" between the two. The picturesque village of Bunratty is also nearby. The Limerick–Ennis railway line passes through the town, but the station remains closed at present.

Sixmilebridge history

The odd English name of the village derives, as Thomas Dineley who visited Sixmilebridge in 1681 descibes: "From Bunratty, the seat of the Earl of Thomond, into the town of Sixmilebridge, belonging also to that noble family, is 3 miles; from whence to the city of Limerick, to which are two ways, namely by the oil mills and the seat of the Mc Namaras beyond it, or over the high mountain, famous for its admirable prospect, hanging as it were over Sixmilebridge town and commonly known as Gallows Hill; this is the upper, the other the lower way to Limerick and from town to the city six miles either way, whence the town hath its name"

The original village grew up around a crossing place on the O'Garney River. By the end of the seventeenth century development was tied to the industrialisation of the area as people of Dutch origin found the river very suitable for milling. This ended abruptly with the building of a toll bridge on the river. William D'Ester's construction gained a profit from people crossing the river but halted the trading done with Holland. In a famous duel between Daniel O'Connell and D'Ester over O'Connell's refusal to pay the toll, D'Ester lost his life, but his toll bridge survived and remains standing to this day. Today the village serves as a dormatory town for workers in Limerick City and Shannon region.