The Train To Howth

By Michael J. Hurley

A brief history of the short branchline to Howth off the main Dublin to Belfast mainline. Written to mark the 150th anniversary of the branch opening in 1846. The branch was part of the much loved Great Northern Railway of Ireland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael J. Hurley
• Release date: Sep 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466115200

Michael J. Hurley

Michael John Hurley was born in Baldoyle County Dublin in June 1950. He has harboured a lifelong interest in the history of the local hinterland. Michael has written the following books on the locality:'Where Came Dark Stranger', 'The View from The Grandstand', 'The Train to Howth', 'Articles, Particles, & Facts, 'Tales of Old Baldoyle', 'Baldoyle The Racecourse Village', 'Baldoyle, Portmarnock, Sutton - A Local History','The Light of Other Days', 'An Introduction to The Wild Flowers of Baldoyle', 'A Quick Guide To Old Baldoyle', 'The Story of Stapolin'. 'Cill Fhionntáin', 'Sutton, Baldoyle Musical Society 40th Anniversary', 'Baldoyle 1911 - The Census Year', 'The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) in the areas of Baldoyle, Howth, Sutton, County Dublin','The Howth Peninsula From Old Postcards' (with Anne Murphy). He has also released two DVD programmes on the locality. He has a photo collection of some 3,000 local images and gives talks and photo presentations to community groups in the area of north Dublin. For family reasons Michael has lived in County Galway since 2013. His latest e-books are on the subject of the Galway General Omnibus Company Limited, Galway Horse Trams, Galway Bay Steamboat Company, Wild flowers in Lackagh, and Wild Birds in Lackagh .

Book preview

The

Train To

Howth

150 years 1846 - 1996

By

Michael J. Hurley

This edition copyright Michael J. Hurley © 2011

No part of this book may be copied or used without the permission of the author.

First published in paperback in 1996

Glover tank number 3 at Baldoyle & Sutton in the late fifties (A. Donaldson / W. T. Scott collection).

Introduction

One hundred and fifty years have passed since the opening of the railway into the Howth Peninsula. Thousands of passengers have used the service since its inception and many of our neighbours and friends in the area have enjoyed secure employment in its service. Many and great were the hardships suffered by those early railway men. First came the Navvies, described here by Thomas Carlyle in 1846:I have not in my travels seen anything uglier than that disorganic mass of labourers, sunk three-fold deeper in brutality by the three-fold wages they are getting...and not without glad surprise I find the Irish are the best in point of behaviour. The postman tells me that several of the poor Irish do regularly apply to him for money drafts and send their money home. Guards sat on their lonely seats while drivers and firemen on the cabless engines froze in winter and roasted in summer. Signalmen operated without the luxury of a cabin.

Nostalgia has made a posthumous folk-hero of the Hill of Howth Tramway and many have written its praises. I feel that the railway which sired it would now enjoy the same glow of nostalgia had it also succumbed to the scalpel of Dr. Andrews. I endeavour now to outline the story of the railway in this picturesque corner of Dublin. Many have helped me in this endeavour and I would like to thank Liam Ryan, Jack Moore, Denise O'Hara, Chris Barrett, Tom Ferris, Frank Kennedy, the late Hugh O'Neill and especially my dear wife Phil. I also appreciate the facilities offered by the library of the Irish Railway Records Society at Heuston Station and recommend membership to anybody with even a modicum of interest in the railways of Ireland.

I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of W. B. (Barney) Walsh (1936-1994) who cherished this area of Dublin and was keenly interested in all matters railway.

Bibliography

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