Month: March 2025

Categories
IH News 2025

Historic Structures Fund Grants 2025

The Government of Ireland make available certain grants for the repair of historic structures. The 2025 award list has been published and contains 5 structures of an IH nature:

Former Railway Goods Shed, Railway Road, Co. Cavan
Binnacle Ltd. Repairs to roof and rainwater goods to facilitate the future public use of this disused industrial building.
This would appear to be the former GNR(I) goods store in Cavan Town.

Billis Mills, Watermill by Billis Bridge, Drumollard, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan; Katarina McNabb & Christopher Liu
Repairs to joinery and masonry structure of this unique ‘double mill’ as part of ongoing restoration of this rural industrial heritage complex

Former Warehouse, The Mall, Ramelton, Co. Donegal; Carmel Patterson Repairs to roof and rainwater system to secure this structure and facilitate plans to bring it back into use as town centre residential properties

Former Railway Station, Oughterard, Co. Galway, Owenriff Investments Ltd.
Repairs to roof, windows and rainwater goods of this nineteenth century former railway station.

Railway Footbridge, Moate, Co. Westmeath, Westmeath County
Council
Restoration of this currently inaccessible cast iron footbridge, including conservation of decorative ironworks and installation of new deck to reinstate public access.

Categories
IH News 2025

Oughterard Station, Co. Galway

The Irish Independent reports that a grant in the amount of €130,000 has been issued towards the restoration of the former Oughterard railway station.

Categories
IH News 2025 Locations

Yeomanstown Mill, Co. Kildare

The Irish Independent has a property piece about Yeomanstown Mill, Co. Kildare, which is for sale with an asking price of EUR1.6million.

Over 20 years ago, I organised an IH tour of North Kildare for the IHAI and this site was one of the places visited, its existence having been brought to my attention by a family member.

Categories
Events

Strabane’s Railways Remembered

The County Donegal Railway Museum are holding the above titled event – a talk about the former railways of Strabane and a book launch of a book of the same title.

The event is on 26th March 2025 at 19:00 in the Alley Theatre, Strabane, Co. Tyrone. The event is free, but pre-booking is required and can be done here.

Categories
IH News 2025

Elphin Windmill

I recently posted about the GoFundMe campaign for Elphin Windmill, to raise funds for repair to the damaged sails, caused by Storm Eowyn.

Today, I put my money where my mouth is and donated EUR2,000 to the campaign.

Categories
IH News 2025

Factory Girls memorial, Derry

It has finally happened – the long talked about memorial to the female shirt factory workers in Derry has been unveiled.

The Derry Journal reports that representatives of former shirt factory workers were given the honour of unwrapping the memorial in an area beside the Guildhall in Derry City.

Categories
Events

Dublin’s Railway Architecture

Dublin City Council are hosting the above titled talk on 23 April 2025 at 18:00 in the Mansion House in Dublin.

The event is free but registration is required and can be done here.

Categories
Greenways

Tralee Fenit Greenway

Heading back to Dublin after another greenway visit – this time, the Tralee to Fenit greenway.

Similar to the Midleton to Youghal Greenway, there are multiple sections where a deviation off the route of the former railway is required due to possession of the former trackbed by others.

As with the Youghal line, this railway had not been abandoned and the question must arise, who took their eyes off the ball in either allowing advserse possession of the line to take place, or worse, who in CIE sold the trackbed of a non-abandoned railway?

Categories
History

RTE Archive – getting it wrong

The RTE archive has a piece on the opening of 4 new stations on the Maynooth Line in 1990 (Broombridge, Castleknock, Coolmine and Leixlip Confey).

The blurb contains many errors, including:

Referring to the service as “A new Dublin suburban rail line”. The Maynooth Line service actually started in 1981.

Stated that the original railway along which the service ran dates back back to the 1870s. The line actually opened in 1847.

Stated the railway was originally known as the “Great Midland and Western Railway”. No. The railway was originally built/owned by the Midland Great Western Railway.

Categories
Events

From the Basin to the Bar

The above titled talk is a photographic journey on the waterways around Newry, which takes place on 22nd March 2025 at 14:00 in Newry & Mourne Museum in Newry. Tickets can be obtained here and cost £2.50.