The BBC has an interesting article about the quarrying of millstones in Fermanagh (and across the border in Cavan).
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Category: History
Posts of an historical nature
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Dublin & Kingstown Railway anniversary
Happy 190th birthday to the Dublin & Kingstown Railway, opened on 17th December 1834, between Westland Row (now Pearse) Station and Dunleary (a temporary station adjacent to the West Pier of Dun Laoghaire Harbour).
Long before greenways were a thing, the former Belfast & County Down Railway trackbed from Belfast to Comber was one. Despite being one of the oldest such greenways, it is only today that I managed to travel it.
I took myself and my bike up to Belfast on the train yesterday, overnighted in Belfast and this morning, cycled from Belfast to Comber and back on the greenway. This is located primarily on the route of the former railway, with some deviations where housing has been built on the line.
I was surprised by the presence of mini hills on the route as generally, railways rose and fell at minimal gradients, however, my legs got a workout this morning due to this (I don’t have an electric bike).
All photos taken at the station sites are now online, however, there is not a lot to show as most stations have disappeared, with little trace remaining.
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Sunbeam Knitwear Company, Cork
I came on this excellent article by Kieran McCarthy about the Sunbeam Knitwear Company in Cork.
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The Cong Canal
One of the lesser known canals of Ireland, also known as the ‘Dry Canal’, due to never having been completed and misinformation around the reasons for same, is the Cong Canal. I came across this recent Youtube Video on the subject, which makes extensive use of drone footage of the area to highlight what remains.
Railways brought forth all sorts of social change and innovation, in much the same way that the internet has over the last 25 years.
One such act of entrepeneurship in London saw the creation of the London Necropolis Company, which transported the deceased and their funeral cortege from London to a Brookwood cemetery, some 23 miles south west of London, by train. Primarily using the railway lines of other companies, they did have their own connections at both London and Brookwood.
Continuing in operation until 1941, the company’s former station building at 121 Westminster Bridge Road, London, remains in alternative use. This is the second London station of the company, coming into use in 1902.
The original station was nearby and removed to make way for expansion of the adjacent railway mainline, the Necropolis Railway Company making the London & South Western Railway pay heavily for their relocation.
The BBC have an article about the industries of Roman Britain which is interesting.
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Kilkenny Mills, Kells
RTE has put an archive segment from 1984 on their website, reporting on the Kilkenny Mills in Kells, Co. Kilkenny.
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The Glendalough Railway
No, there was never a railway to Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. However, as with most places in Ireland of any significance, proposals to build such a line were made in the 19th Century.
The Greystones Guide has an article by Gary Paine about this.
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McArdles Brewery, Dundalk, Co. Louth
I am happy to link to this site, which is an effort to establish an online archive of historic material relating to the erstwhile McArdle’s brewery in Dundalk, Co. Louth.