Pictures taken 70 years apart reveal town’s growth

Exactly who took the photo is unclear but it appears to have been taken from an aircraft. And for the time period, the image is stunning in its clarity.

Clearly visible is the point where the rivers Mourne and Finn meet to join the Foyle. The eight arches of the old bridge linking Lifford with Strabane can also be seen as can at least two of the town’s churches.

Other landmarks such as the old county gaol where high profile inmates such as General James ‘Napper’ Tandy and the infamous John ‘Half Hanged’ McNaghten were held can also be picked out.

The photograph has come into the possession of the Old Lifford Courthouse and so intrigued were they by it that they commissioned Strabane photographer Gareth Wray to take a modern-day image from the exact same angle.

Such have advances been in technology, Gareth was able to send up a drone and capture the requested photograph within minutes. A far cry from seven decades ago when it would have likely cost a small fortune and involved a pilot, a cameraman and either a plane or a helicopter.

The result however is incredible. And while much has changed in Lifford, much has also stayed the same. The bridge is located in exactly the same spot however gone are its arches, replaced with a much more modern design.

The town’s Diamond area is largely as it was as are many of the buildings along Main Street.

A very noticeable difference though is out the Coneyburrow Road. Where 70 years ago it was mostly undeveloped grassland and fields, today stands the Three Coins public artwork leading out to a collection of schools, businesses, community buildings, farms and housing developments.
And while for many the fun may be in pinpointing locations around the town of today, for those of a certain generation it will be about recalling the dozens of shops, businesses and families that once were Lifford.

Among those providing employment in a bygone era were stores including Roddy Doherty’s Grocers, McCosker’s Cafe, Snodgrass’s Hotel, Gillespie’s Shoemakers, Johnston’s Souvenir Shop, the Orchid Ballroom, Smyth’s Coal and Grain Merchants and the Donegal People’s Press office to name but a very few.

Manager of Lifford Old Courthouse, Gillian Graham, said the reaction to the decades-spanning photographs has been huge.

“I put the old image up on social media and it got a great reaction,” said Gillian.

“But then I put the second one Gareth took up and it got an even bigger reaction. And it has been lovely to see people reminiscing and chatting about the town as it once was.

“Personally I was surprised at the changes that have taken place over the years. You don’t realise just how much development there has been until you see it in front of you like this. The thing that surprised me most was how much the town has extended out the Coneyburrow Road.”