The Dublin Branch of the Western Front Association are holding this event on 23rd April 2022 in the Conference Room, Pearse Street Library, Dublin 2 at 14:00 (doors open 13:30).
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Month: March 2022
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Dunboy Castle sold again
Dunboy Castle on the Beara Peninsula in Co. Cork was the home of the Puxleys – owners of the copper mines at Allihies.
There was a Celtic Tiger era project to convert the ruined building into a luxury hotel, but this obviously died along with that era.
The Irish Examiner reports that the castle has been sold again and plans to complete the re-development and open the venue as an 84 bed hotel are proposed.
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Dolphin’s Barn brickworks
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Carlisle Bridge, Dublin
RTE have an article on their site about Carlisle Bridge in Dublin – predecessor to O’Connell Bridge.
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Titanic Hotel, Belfast
I took my first holiday in over 2 years over the weekend with a 4 day trip to Northern Ireland. Starting in Derry, I ended up in Belfast where I spent my final 2 nights in the Titanic Hotel. The Titanic Hotel is built in the former Harland and Wolff office building and the upmarket status it claims is deserved.
In 2007, the IHAI went on a fieldtrip to Belfast and tour participants were privileged to be given access to the site where the Titanic Museum is now, as well as the semi derelict H&W offices. It was nice to be able to see the final product of the latter’s restoration and I wish this venture every success.
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Belfast Central Station
Opened in 1976 to replace Great Victoria Street and Queen’s Quay, Central Station in Belfast was supposed to spawn a regeneration of the area around East Bridge Street – something that never happened.
Things moved on and the real “central” station – Great Victoria Street – reopened in 1995, along with a new section of railway (the Blythefield curve) to make Great Victoria Street usable as a proper central train station. In recognition of this loss of status, in 2018, the station was renamed “Lanyon Place” and any pretence at centrality was abandoned.
Things move slowly in the public sector – by pure chance, I was passing by Lanyon Place on a train today and happened to see staff taking out the old “Belfast Central” platform signs from a side entrance and loading same into a van.
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Portrush Station building
The original station building in Portrush, Co. Antrim, is an impressive structure dating from 1892. No longer in railway use (a status it lost in 1974), it has seen various non railway uses since, including as an amusement arcade and a pub/nightclub.
I was in Portrush today and noticed that the building is now occupied by a factory store. I took the opportunity to get inside the building, something I had never had the chance to do previously.
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Cáca Milis
Cáca Milis is an Irish language short film which, I have been reliably informed, was imposed onto Irish teenagers as part of the Leaving Cert Irish syllabus sometime after its production.*
It is available on Youtube – the plotline is quite disturbing and can be read here.
The relevance to this website is that almost the entire film takes place on a train in Ireland. Whilst searching online for this film, I found a website – the British Railway Movie Database – which notes movies which feature British and Irish railway stations.
Their page for Cáca Milis included some screenshots of the stations featured, but noted that they did not have information as to where the stations were.
I was able to identify the unidentified locations and this information has now been updated by the site owner, with acknowledgement of my contribution.
* I am sorry to have to show my age by noting that I did my Leaving Cert before this film was produced and therefore missed having it imposed onto me.