The Bridge of Tears


The Bridge of Tears sits at the base of Muckish mountain in North-West Donegal. During the Great Famine and beyond, emigrants heading towards Derry port in the hopes of boarding ships travelled here on foot accompanied by their relatives. This bridge marks the point at which they parted ways in the knowledge that this would be their final goodbye. 
                   This bridge represents the survival and endurance of those who crossed it and those they left behind, the versions of themselves left behind. It is a space which holds the memory of a language, stories, heritage and loved ones lost. Telling not just the story of one individual but a collective cultural memory and identity of sorrow, it is the final point in a living wake, a funeral procession for those not yet but nearly dead. It is both a painful ending and the hope of a bright new beginning.
                   Featuring five original poems by Donegal poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin written in English and Irish, this book explores the universal experience of emigration, migration and displacement of people. The book includes a photogravure intaglio print as well as visual interventions created with sumi ink, turf ash and Atlantic salt, forming abstract ‘drawings’ inspired by migration pattern mapping and the movement of the tides. The book uses water collected from the river beneath the bridge, capturing the essence of the place, and forming a ‘living’ embodiment of the space and its people.
                    Designed, typeset by hand and printed by Ellen Martin-Friel. Paper is 220 gsm Fabriano Rosapina mould-made etching with Hahnemühle Bugra Butten for endpapers. Type employed is Magister 12 d Roman, Italic and Bold Extended, on loan from The Salvage Press. 
                   Visual interventions are created by Ellen Martin-Friel using sumi ink, Atlantic sea salt, turf ash and water collected from Srúthan Mhín Easa Roda which flows beneath the Bridge of Tears. The photogravure frontispiece was made into a plate by Ellen Martin-Friel from her own photograph and editioned by Mick Timmins at the Graphic Studio Dublin. 
                   Bindings are carried out by Barbara Hubert in Cork City. The book is housed in a canvas-covered solander box lined with Martin-Friel’s salted papers and crafted by Elize de Beer at her studio in Cork City.
                   Printed in an edition of 60 numbered copies signed by both collaborators and hard case bound in canvas covers, an additional 10 copies marked A – J have been printed and similarly bound for collaborators and friends of the artist.


Edition of 60
€479
Launching December 2025

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