The RTE online archive periodically includes historic news items of industrial heritage.
One such clip relates to the conservation of Tuam Mill, dating from 1981.
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Water tower residential conversion
I came across this video on Youtube of a former water tower in Hertfordshire, England, which has been converted to a home.
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Way Down Underground
The above titled play takes place in the Derrynaflan Theatre at the Horse and Jockey Hotel in Tipperary on 11th January 2026. From the Nenagh Live website:
“Blending theatre, music, and video, the show takes audiences deep into the world of the early 1900s, when men laboured underground for the sake of their families. Though rooted in Slieveardagh’s past, this is a story repeated in countless communities and workplaces — the struggle, pride, and resilience of the working man.”
Tickets cost €20 and can be reserved by texting 086 196 0157 to reserve or on the Way Down Underground Facebook page.
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Maam Cross Station, Galway
The Irish Mirror is reporting that a fire has engulfed the signal cabin at the Connemara Railway at their restoration project at Maam Cross in Galway.
Update 16 December 2025: A GofundMe campaign has been opened to raise money for the restoration of the signal cabin.
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Maynooth Station footbridge
An upgrade initiated by Irish Rail, in advance of DART+WEST kicking off, is the replacement of the footbridge at Maynooth with a new, lift accessible footbridge immediately adjacent. Recent media updates noted the official opening of the new footbridge on 11 December.
When passing through the station last night, I noticed crews hovering around the old footbridge and when passing through the station today, the old footbridge is gone.
RTE reports that plans for a greenway on the ‘Burma Road’ – i.e., the line from Claremorris to Collooney – are dead. Technically, the decision only applies to the bit in Sligo, but given that Irish Rail have ruled out anything but a licence for the section in Co. Sligo, Sligo County Council have determined that a greenway adjacent to the railway is not feasible.
Located in northern Spain is Canfranc station, nowadays a 5 star hotel but opened in 1928 as an international border station between Spain and France, on a line running through the Somport railway tunnel. At the time of opening, it was the 2nd largest station in Europe (Leipzig Hauptbahnhof in Germany being the biggest).
No through trains ran beyond Canfranc as France uses the international standard gauge of 4 foot 8.5 inches whereas Spain has its own gauge of 5 foot 6 inches. The station acted as a transhipment point.
The station continued in this role until 1970 when a train derailment in France damaged a bridge on the route, which saw the cross border line closed. Spanish services continued from Zaragoza, as they do today, albeit now to a new station adjacent to the original.
Renovation of the spectacular station building started in 2020 with the hotel opening in January 2023. In addition to the station building, there is a restaurant in 2 carriages located on the site of the historic tracks of the original station (the modern station is off to one side on the site of former sidings).
I am writing this post from the hotel, having arrived off the train from Zaragoza at 19:50 on Sunday, after travelling by train from Barcelona. This involved a change of train at Zaragoza and again at Huesca. The reception staff seemed surprised at both my method of getting here and that I had travelled all the way from Ireland!
The modern day station is nothing spectacular from an architectural viewpoint, with three platforms and a siding for a grain silo. Elsewhere on the site of the former station, there are static displays of former track and two carriages.
industrialheritageireland.info would like to extend its congratulations to the Downpatrick Railway Society on receiving The King’s Award for Voluntary Service 2025.
RTE have a video clip about the successful restoration of an old platform crane by the W&SVR, which is now on display at their main station at Kilmeaden.
The crane was originally at Ferns station in Co. Wexford, where I took a photo of it in 2003:
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Irish railways in the 1980s
I found this video on Youtube, which is a (UK) Channel 4 programme about railways in Ireland (primarily focuses on Northern Ireland but includes pieces about railways in the Republic of Ireland).