The lost railways of Ireland

In the 19th century railways bloomed in Ireland, growing fast and in all their varieties until they reached over every county and to the furthest shores. They reached to places as yet untouched by proper roads and enabled the produce and the people of the country to escape their isolation and poverty and yet most of them have withered as fast as they grew.Some of them have gone from places condemned as desolate and dying and now crying out for suburban railways; some were in places so remote it seems incredible that the railway every came. For some of these places the railway ages was short, maybe only thirty years, a heyday that co-incided with the interesting times of world war, national independence and civil war. These railways have left some stories and some glimples of them can be seen all over the country.

This is intended as an overview. I'll add links as I find them for those that want more detail. It's a big subject. Meanwhile not all of the links will work and others will be less than half finished.