Paul Swift continues his series on the Rivers of Ireland
The River Moy rises in the Ox Mountains and flows for 68 miles through Counties Sligo and Mayo. It has numerous tributaries. Working from the sea inland, the Brusna or Bunree River is the first major tributary of the Moy. The Brusna, or Bunree River, joins the Moy in Ballina, directly opposite were Ballina Castle once stood.
The river gets its name from the townland of Bunree. The seven-arch Bunree Bridge crosses the river. It was built around 1838 and replaced a bridge that was there from the early 1700’s. To the south of the bridge there once stood the Bunree Corn Mill. This is visible on all the old ordnance survey maps.
Also located at the bridge is a detached seven-bay three-storey warehouse which was built around the same time as the bridge.
In 1872, Ultred Knox commissioned architect James Franklin Fuller to construct a palatial home at Mount Falcon, a 2,200 acre estate on the west bank of the Moy. This home was for his new bride, Nina Knox-Gore, as he believed she was so special that she deserved to live in a castle.
Franklin Fuller did not disappoint with the finished house. There had been a lake nearby and this was incorporated into the grounds of the house. Nowadays the lake is one of the main features at the house and a stream/small river connects it directly with the River Moy.
