Category: IH News 2024

The Connacht Tribune reports on the absence of public facilities at or near the Meelick Weir walkway.

Whilst complimentary about Waterways Ireland’s part in restoring the walkway along the weir, they note that WI have not provided any facilities for those caught short.

When I was in Clones recently, looking at the new addition to the waterways of Ireland, I did notice the toilet block in Clones which was built as part of this. I am at a loss to understand why similar could not be provided at or near the Meelick Weir, especially as there does appear to be a control building at Meelick Lock:

The Southern Star reports on Cork TD Michael Collins calling for an upcoming internal Irish Lights celebration of 120 years of Fastnet Lighthouse to be held in Cork and not Dublin, given that Cork is where Fastnet Lighthouse is.

Whilst I can see his argument (and as a Dubliner, I can see that this event does look like them up in Dublin not considering anything beyond the Pale), given that this is an internal Irish Lights event, staff would need to be compensated for travel to/from Cork. I would not consider such expenditure to be appropriate.

Of course, there is nothing to stop Cork County Council sponsoring an event to commemorate this milestone.

For many of my age group and older, Brennans Bread would have been a staple of our diet, Brennans (along with Johnson Mooney and O’Brien) being the primary bread bakeries in the Dublin Area.

Extra.ie (amongst others) reports on the passing of Joseph Brennan, founder of the bakery, aged 82.

The headline had me excited – I thought there was a hitherto hidden version of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel in Dublin that had escaped my attention. Sadly, no. Just a clickbait headline.

The “tunnels” referred to are the pedestrian underpasses that grace Sandwith Street, Upper Erne Street and Macken Street in Dublin, design features of the Dublin & Kingstown Railway that were insisted on by the Wide Streets Commissioners. The article references 3 other “tunnels”, however, these are standard road underbridges with no side arches for pedestrians.

The article calls for Irish Rail to engage in a regular cleanup of the underpasses. I would have thought that this was a Dublin City Council responsibility?

The Irish Examiner reports that Waterford City and County Council are to convert the former station building at Kilmacthomas on the Waterford – Dungarvan Greenway to tourist accommodation.

The plans (part of a bigger scheme to do likewise with a former bank building in Lismore) will see the station building have 2 units capable of hosting 4 people. A separate unit will also be built to house a model railway based on the former railway line. The ongoing management of the venture will be managed by third parties.

industrialheritageireland.info commends WCCC on these initiatives.

I was up in Belfast today, taking photographs of Yorkgate station building and Great Victoria Street station. The specific reason for an urgent trip to Belfast was the impending demolition of both.

In the case of the latter, Translink are developing a new bus/rail interchange station, to be called “Grand Central Station” and due to the layout of this, Great Victoria Street station (which only reopened in 1995) is to close on 10 May 2024, after which it will be demolished. Its replacement is not due to open until 2025.

Separately, Translink have built a new station building at the renamed Yorkgate Station (now York Street, although the platform signs as of today still said Yorkgate) and the old (1992) building and footbridge are to be demolished on 6 May 2024.

I also took the opportunity to take a photograph of the site of Queen’s Quay station and visit Magheramorne – the latter was the last open station in Ireland that I had never visited, a status it lost today.

It is with regret that I post to note the passing of William Hogg, author of Millers & the Mills of Ireland of about 1850 and other works and leading light in the Mills and Millers of Ireland society.