Transactions switch immediately from Euros (€) in Swanlinbar to British Pounds (£) once crossing into Fermanagh. Traffic signs also change from Kilometres to Miles.

Historically, Swanlinbar was a heavily militarized, “approved” customs route during the Troubles. Nearby minor roads were cratered or blocked to funnel traffic into a singular, fortified British Army checkpoint. Local residents frequently engaged in “border busting” campaigns using machinery to clear the roads. The closure of most border roads during the Troubles dramatically impacted on the everyday lives of people living near the border. For people whose journeys to work, church, school, to shop, or to visit family or friends were affected by road closures, almost every aspect of daily life was made difficult by the border.

The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 brought peace to Northern Ireland by removing security checkpoints on the Irish land border and setting up power-sharing government. Brexit later created trade tension, leading to the Windsor Framework which placed regulatory checks in the Irish Sea rather than on the open land border.

The Border – Looking North

The Border -Looking South

Republican Monument

Very close to the border is a monument. The Cavan-Fermanagh Republican monument near Swanlinbar honors local republican volunteers from the Border Campaign, prominently commemorating figures such as Patrick McManus and James Crossan.