I decided to leave compiling the Heritage Week listing until later this year, rather than having to do multiple reviews of the listings. The list of IH related events in Heritage Week is now online here.
There is a significant reduction in the number of IH related events this year, compared to previous years, which is regrettable.
The Irish Government has just published a new development plan for the country, proposing investment in many areas of infrastructure and services.
The images on the front cover of the report include an image of a train. However, an unfortunate error has occurred in that the image included is that of an NIR railcar and not a train from the Republic of Ireland.
Rather than the shibboleth of the Republic of Ireland taking over Northern Ireland, it looks like the National Development Plan is proposing the opposite.
I can honestly put my hand on my heart and state that I have never watched the drama series “Game of Thrones”. However, I am aware that there is a feature in this known as the “Dark Hedges”, which is a real location in Co. Antrim.
I was in Antrim over the June bank holiday weekend taking photos of the former railway lines to Ballycastle and Retreat and as it so happens, the Dark Hedges are located adjacent to the site of the former Gracehill Station on the long closed Ballymoney to Ballycastle line.
Damage caused by Storm Eowyn in January 2025 can be seen on the left.
The Irish Independent has a video interview with Barry Kenny of Irish Rail, going behind the scenes at Connolly Station. This includes a visit to the Central Traffic Control (CTC).
RTE (and others) are reporting that the High Court objections to DART+WEST to Maynooth have been dropped and the project can now proceed.
Having said that, the lack of a depot stymies the plan and Irish Rail need to progress this latter urgently. I remain of the view that the appropriate location of this is west of Kilcock (adjacent to the Musgraves depot) with a Park & Ride site and new station on the Sligo side of the old N4 road overbridge.
I would also suggest another station to the east of the present one, opposite Millerstown with a footbridge over the Royal Canal to facilitate greater access to same. This would allow for the closure of the current town station, facilitating track realignment on an easier curve than presently permitted at this location, as well as overcoming the difficulty of having 2 platforms at the current station site.
The Dublin Whiskey Fire of 1875 took place on 18 June 1875 – 150 years ago today.
At a high level, the fire started in Malone’s malt house, where there was also a bonded warehouse, on Chamber Street in the Liberties area of Dublin.
For further details, see this blogpost on The Pot Still blog.
I have now added webpages and photo galleries for the LUAS to the Gazetteer. All such stations can be accessed off the following map.
One of the things on my bucket list is to travel in a boat through the Ardnacrusha dam. Unfortunately, the only way to do this is own a boat suitable for the trip, or know someone who does who is willing to take you on such a trip.
The video below is of a trip through the Ardnacrusha Lock:
The Railway Accident Investigation Unit (RAIU) has released a brief report on an incident that occurred in January 2025 at Navan Road Parkway Station in Dublin.
To cut a long story short (full report linked to above), the gates on Platform 2 (citybound platform) at Navan Road Parkway were left locked on the morning of 31st January 2025, resulting in a number of passengers crossing the tracks to exit the station from Platform 1, where the access gates were not locked.
Interestingly, the RAIU report notes that in such instances, those on the line are not trespassers in the legal sense of the term.
I recently had a letter published in the local media, accusing Irish Rail of incompetence, basing this assertion on 35 years of experience of criticising same. It looks like the RAIU agree.
The redevelopment of the North Quays in Waterford is underway. Technically, such a project would be worthy of comment on this site, due to port environments falling under the definition of IH.
I specifically link to this article in the Waterford News and Star as it contains a timeline for the opening of the new railway station in Waterford being built as part of this project and information about the current station.
It is noted that the transport hub will be substantially complete by Q2 2026 but signaling work on the railway will not be complete until Q2 2027. Given the light use of this section of line east of the current Waterford station (freight traffic to Belview), I am at a loss to understand why Irish Rail cannot realign the track and install the associated signalling now.
The article notes that the canopies at the present Waterford station are protected structures and therefore, CIE will be required to keep these (having said that, the ‘care and maintenance’ practiced by Irish Rail/CIE is not something to shout about).
Could I suggest that the present Limerick/Dublin facing bay platform be leased to the Irish Traction Group as an alternative to their present isolated facility at Carrick on Suir? Having their locomotives in Waterford would be a tourist attraction and an appropriate re-use of the platform facilities.