Completing the formal composition of public buildings around the Diamond until 1960 and closing the square, was Lifford Gaol. A forbidding building, it was constructed in 1793 in a castellated style with Tudor hood mouldings over some windows and projecting bays to give the impression of towers.
Completing the formal composition of public buildings around the Diamond until 1960 and closing the square, was Lifford Gaol. A forbidding building, it was constructed in 1793 in a castellated style with Tudor hood mouldings over some windows and projecting bays to give the impression of towers.
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Lifford Courthouse on the opposite side of the Diamond dates from 1754. Architect Michael Priestley. It is has a strong composition with stepped ‘Gibbs’ surrounds to the windows and door and a tall plaque with the coat of arms of George II above the door. It looks a little Iberian in its composition, something that would not be out of place in Portugal or South America. The Co Donegal Planning Office in the main square or ‘Diamond’ of Lifford is an important apparently Georgian building which brings a strong civic presence to the square. However, pyramidal kneeler stones on the gables give the game away, for this detail is more commonly found on Gothic churches. Gothic was popular during the Victorian period. The building we see today was, according to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, built or remodelled in 1868. The central door surround with Tuscan columns is carefully detailed and may be a remnant of a previous building on the site. Across the border and into Lifford. This is the Garda Station on the main street of c.1870. Unrendered, it stands out in the streetscape as a civic building. The central block is detailed in a Tudor Revival style with hood mouldings over the windows and kneeler stones to the ends of its gables. The blocks to each side are simpler and more Georgian in their detail. Unfortunately the historic windows have been replaced in plastic reducing its historic character.
Back in Strabane, this appears to be the last remnant to survive in the town of the intersection of two railways: the Great Northern and the Narrow Gauge Co Donegal Railway. The retail park nearby was the location of the station and associated goods yard. Preserved on its wall are some plaques associated with the railway and a former signal. ‘Let the Dance Begin’ is a group of four metre high stainless steel and bronze sculptures at the entrance to Strabane from Co Donegal. Erected in 1999 to mark the Millennium, they represent the two main traditions in Northern Ireland united by music and dance. The artist was Maurice Harron. An unusual sculpture on the road back into Strabane, This is a timber carving of a fox sitting on a tree stump as a curve in the road looking over a fine view. It is dated ‘27/5/08’ by 'Liam Kennedy, Strabane’. The Wilson House at Dergalt, about two miles south east of Strabane, was the home of James Wilson, grandfather of President Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States of America. It was purchased by the state in the early 1960’s and is now managed by the Ulster American Folk Park. The building is a traditional ‘direct entry’ house with a portion raised to a second story and slated.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Barrack Street, Strabane, (1890-95) is a huge cathedral like church on the southern edge of town. Built in the 13th century French Gothic style, inside, it has some fantastic late nineteenth century mosaic work. Well worth a visit. Patrick Street Graveyard, Strabane. Fine Eighteenth century sandstone gate pillars flank the entrance to this graveyard which housed the Church of Ireland Church in the town until 1870. In the centre of the graveyard is an ancient standing stone. |
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