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The old GNR bridge on the right with the new bridge on the
Ballyshannon-Bundoran By-Pass today.
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The Great
Northern Railway, or the G.N.R as it was
known, opened for passengers in this area in June 1867 and brought major
benefits to the business and local community in Ballyshannon and surrounding
areas including the seaside resort of
Bundoran and the Pottery in Belleek. The line was extended to Belleek,
Ballyshannon and Bundoran through the lobbying of John Caldwell Bloomfield and
the directors of the Pottery at Belleek, who required the rail line to bring in
raw materials and coal for their china. Ms. Bloomfield laid the foundation stone
at the railway bridge over the Erne at Belleek on 2nd January 1865. The
construction of the railway line
provided work and further employment was created when the Ballyshannon and
Bundoran Stations were up and running on
the aptly named Station roads. Things were on the up in Ballyshannon as the
town was lit by gas by the Ballyshannon Gas company in the1860s, on the site of
the handball alley today. The railway provided
a service for local people and connected this part of the North-West
with Northern Ireland and Dublin. In the eyes of some local people in
Ballyshannon, the railway was to have an adverse effect on the harbour at
Ballyshannon, as goods formerly brought by sea could now come by rail. However the problems at the seaport of
Ballyshannon were long running, involving the sand bar which made it hazardous
and in some cases uninsurable for shipping. There was no stopping the onward
spread of rail transport. The G.N.R. opened up new areas of the country and
linked towns and villages over a wide area. Local communities benefitted from
the arrival of the railway and the seaside town of Bundoran owes much of its
early growth in tourism to the coming of the railway.
The Beginning of the Rail Link to
Ballyshannon 7th June 1867
An initial meeting was held in Ballyshannon on the
25th of September 1860, to establish a
railway to link into the Omagh-Enniskillen line. Present were the local landlords: Thomas Connolly, M.P., John
Caldwell Bloomfield, William Johnston, Alexander Hamilton, John R. Dickson and
Rev. G.N. Tredennick was Secretary. Agreement was reached to issues shares to
the value of £200,000 at £10 a share and
with funding in place, representations were made to parliament for
approval of the project. Permission was
granted and work started on the project with a spur at Bundoran Junction, as it
was called, on the Omagh-Enniskillen line leading on to Irvinestown, Kesh,
Pettigo, Castlecaldwell, Magheramena, Belleek, Ballyshannon and Bundoran. The
first passenger train crossed the metal bridge at Belleek on Sunday, 7th June
1867, on its way to Ballyshannon and onwards to Bundoran.
The railway
brought universal time replacing local time which had been estimated by
sunrise, sunset and the seasons. Greenwich Mean Time (G.M.T.) was introduced in
1880 and was regularly known as Railway Time. Clocks became the order of the
day and punctuality became more a feature of peoples lives, as they now became
aware of precise times with the arrival of the train.The railways also carried
the post and newspapers became more
popular as they were now accessible daily. Goods could be ordered and sent by
rail and commercial travellers became a feature of life in Ballyshannon. Local
crafts and industries were to suffer from the competition of cheaper manufactured goods arriving by rail.
The local fisheries benefitted as fish
could be transported speedily by rail to reach Billingsgate Market in London
the following day. Ice was transported from Belfast to Ballyshannon in five
hundredweight blocks on the G.N.R. for Swan’s fishery which operated in what is
now the Mulligan warehouse on the Mall. Wooden mallets were then used to break
the ice which could last for the fishing season. Two trains left Ballyshannon
station daily for Dublin at 9.35 a.m.and 4.30 p.m.
The corporate image was maintained by the G.N.R.
Company with solid buildings, well crafted bridges and a smart uniform with a
crest. (Part of the facade of the building still survives at Station Road
Ballyshannon). Like the banks the G.N.R.
station was amongst the most impressive buildings in Ballyshannon. Excursions
from Ballyshannon were promoted by the G.N.R. and became a regular feature as many people had
their first adventures into the exciting world of travel . Local people went as
a community on bank holiday excursions
to places like Derry and Portrush. The railway brought in large numbers for
local events such as The Harvest Fair Day, the Falgarragh Horse Races and the
Gaelic League Aeridheachts which were held at Rockville close to the G.N.R.
station. The local soccer club Erne F.C later called “The Blazers” used the
railway to compete in the Irish Football Association Cup in 1907 against teams
such as Omagh United and Strabane Celtic. Gaelic games fans travelled by rail
to the Ulster finals and to All-Ireland Finals in Croke Park. Emigrants who in
former times had emigrated from the Mall Quay or Derry now began their journey
to Great Britain or America from the railway station at Ballyshannon.
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| Approaching Bundoran station |
Railway memories from World War
One and the War of Independence
The sight and sound of British Army troops with their bands,
marching through the Port from the G.N.R. station on their way to the Rock
Barracks, was to be a regular occurrence for local people. The garrison was changed
from time to time and the railway was especially busy at times of war. With the
building of Finner Camp in the 1890s the soldiers marched out through the two
Ports, to Portnason and on to Finner.
This was to be a regular feature as
soldiers went to Finner for training during
the First World War ( 1914-1918) and also left on the railway for the
Western Front in France. Not generally known is that a detachment of 200
soldiers of the 12th Reserve Battalion Royal Iniskilling Fusiliers from Finner
Camp left by G.N.R. special train from Ballyshannon to take part in putting
down the 1916 Rising in Dublin early in Easter Week.
The Great Northern Railway Station at Ballyshannon
was the scene of an armed robbery during
the War of Independence. In June 1921 armed men entered the station at Ballyshannon
and destroyed five tons of oatmeal enroute to a firm in Garrison. In the same
raid 63 pounds of chocolate consigned by Cadbury’s at Belfast for crown forces
at Finner Camp as well as 72 paint brushes from the Ulster Brush Company in
Belfast were destroyed. This was in retaliation for pogroms in Belfast and was
part of a boycott of British goods and personnel during the War of
Independence. The County Donegal Railway (C.D.R.) also suffered a number of
hold ups by armed men during the War of Independence (1919-1921). In April
1920 the
fireboxes from two railway engines were removed at Bundoran station to
obstruct the British military from using the railway. This was intended to disrupt military intelligence and
was part of a guerilla war waged during the War of Independence. Tuesday 7th
March 1922 was an historic day in Ballyshannon as, following the War of
Independence and the Treaty, British forces vacated the town for the final
time. The Royal Irish Constabulary police force who were based at the barracks
in College Street lined up outside the barracks and, as the clock struck
eleven, the Irish Volunteer force moved in. Head Constable Doyle and the R.I.C.
police officers marched off to board the Great Northern Railway at Station
road. The barracks still stands opposite the former Vocational School.
Pat Quinn of Corlea, some years ago, in an interview with Martin Mc Cann, a
student at Ballyshannon Vocational School, who was part of a group doing a
project on the railways, recalled memories of working on the Great Northern
Railway. He started working as a painter on the railway in 1929, worked for a
time at laying rails at Belleek, and spent years as a track worker. In the
mornings he would set out walking from Belleek Barracks to Ballyshannon. Every
farmer who had land on either side of the railway had a crossing. Pat checked
to see that the gates on the crossings were secured. There were two crossings
between Belleek and Ballyshannon. One was a level crossing at Maggie Dohertys.
The second was at Annie McCabe’s (Annie McCaffreys). There were signals at
these gates, two on each side. If the train was coming from Belleek, the gate
next Belleek was opened first. At Ballyshannon there was a distant signal and a
home signal. The distant signal was about a half a mile out the Bundoran line
and a couple of hundred yards away from the cabin. Pat carried a box containing fog signals and these were
activated if he noticed anything wrong on the line. The safety of passengers
and crew depended on the signal system working properly.
The Emergency and The Great Snow
of 1947
The G.N.R. provided an essential service, during
the Emergency 1939-1945, when petrol was in short supply for private use. The
Bundoran Express from Dublin to Bundoran was introduced after the Second World
War and it also led to an increased popularity for the pilgrimage at Lough Derg
in Pettigo. In the autumn and winter the Sugar Train also ran from Dungannon to Bundoran on Sundays. This
train allowed passengers to stock up on
sugar and other items which were scarce in the North. Smuggling was quite
prevalent and in October 1942 the customs introduced a lady searcher to check
for smuggled goods at the G.N.R. station in Ballyshannon. Folk memory of the
big snow which fell all over Ireland in February 1947 and which resulted in
20-30 days of snowfall is readily recalled by those who lived through the
period. The G.N.R. train due in Ballyshannon on Tuesday 27th February at 9 p.m.
did not arrive in Ballyshannon until 7 p.m. on Wednesday 28th February due to
the snow. The line was blocked at Irvinestown and the passengers had to stay
overnight in a heated coach. The railway crew saw to their needs and meals were
provided in a local hotel. The train ploughed its way to Ballyshannon next day
but the snow continued to cause problems. The only G.N.R. bus to arrive in
Ballyshannon on that Wednesday was the workers’ bus from Tullaghan driven by
Jack McAllister. It took four hours and twenty minutes to reach Ballyshannon
from Tullaghan!
Ballyshannon a Town with Two
Railways
Local businesses which used the railway frequently
included: Neely’s Mills, Myles’ Timber, Coal and General Hardware, Stephens
Hardware, and Fancy Goods and F.H. Morgan on East Port. These firms, and
others, had in earlier times imported by
ship through the Mall Quay. Cattle trains were also to be a feature at
Ballyshannon station and this benefitted the farming community who now had a more ready access to markets. Some staff who worked for GN.R. locally included: Eddie and Johnny Boyle, Jimmy
Trainor, Andy Mc Shea, Patsy Mc Geown, Charlie Boyle, Pat Fannin, Pat Quinn,
Jim Flanagan and Phillip Boyle. In earlier times employees included, W. Duffy,
Ballyshannon agent, James Mc Donald, station master, and D. Beatty who was
stationmaster in 1880. The G.N.R were later engaged with road transport and
kept their buses and lorries in the Market Yard where they had a waiting room
and an office, while still operating the trains from Station Road. Packie
McIvor, Paddy Drumm, Michael Campbell and John Connolly were amongst the lorry
drivers with G.N.R. The railway also ran buses from the Market Yard with Mary
Gillespie working for the G.N.R. from a railway carriage beside her home in the
Market Yard. Her daughter May was the founder of the Gillespie School of
Dancing.
Ballyshannon was a town with two railways as the
County Donegal Railway or “narrow gauge” as it was called was on the northern
side of the river Erne. The C.D.R. opened in 1905 and served areas in County
Donegal including Creevy, Rossnowlagh,
Ballintra and Donegal Town. Both the G.N.R. and the C.D.R. were to share in the
boom in Ballyshannon, created by the Erne Hydro-Electric Scheme in the late
1940s, as both transported materials for Cementation, the main contractors on
the Scheme. The G.N.R. carried bulk cement from Drogheda and also carried plant
and machinery. Despite the short term benefits of the building boom during the
Scheme, changes in modes of transport were to lead to a decline in passenger
numbers and to financial difficulties for the G.N.R. Company. Both the G.N.R
and the C.D.R. would have required major investment to upgrade the railway
lines and railway stock. The two railways in Ballyshannon were not connected as
the width of gauge was different, but
passengers regularly walked across
the town to continue on their
rail journeys by the G.N.R. or C.D.R. The switch over to road transport and the increased use of
motorcars effected both Ballyshannon and
Bundoran.
The recent discovery of a forgotten medieval
graveyard at Ballyhanna when the By-Pass was being constructed recalled a
linked incident in 1900. The corner of Station road and East Port was called Hobson’s Corner as a John Hobson
resided at Rockville house, on the grounds of which 1,300 skeletons were
recently uncovered. Back in 1900 as water pipes were being laid to the G.N.R.
station a number of human bones were
uncovered at Hobson’s Corner. The bones were left in situ on the site and
covered up. These were a small part of the Ballyhanna graveyard, later discovered
during the construction of the By-Pass, which is commemorated with a heritage
garden on the site today.
Requiem for the G.N.R. 30 September 1957
A green flag waved, a whistle
shrilled and the last passenger train steamed out of Bundoran railway station
on Monday afternoon, 91 years after the first train had chugged its way in.
Into history it rolled on its way, accompanied by the cheering of a crowd on
the platform, the reverberating crash of fog signals and the shriek of the
engine whistle.”
“The Donegal Democrat” aptly summed up the end of the line for the
G.N.R. as the reporter described the mixed emotions of crowds gathered on the
platform as the last train left Bundoran station to the call of “Last train for
Enniskillen”. On the 30th September 1957
this last train, with upwards of one hundred passengers, left Bundoran and
journeyed through Ballyshannon, Belleek and Pettigo. Many made the short
journey to Ballyshannon and disembarked retaining their tickets as a memento of
the great days of rail.The staff at Bundoran station were redeployed and a
number of families left the area as a
result. Mr. Wickham, stationmaster, was transferred to Castleblaney as
stationmaster; Mr. Mooney went as guard to Howth, Mr. Jimmy McGrory to Dublin
as guard; Mr. Paddy Martin, driver, to Dundalk; Mr. P. Mulhern, platelayer, to
Dundalk; Mr. Felix Campbell, platelayer, to Dundalk; Mr. Thomas Campbell,
ganger, to Dundalk; Mr. Robbie McCurdy, fireman, to Clones; Mr. Seamus
Gallagher, clerk, to official in charge Monaghan; Mr. P. Jones, clerk, to
Dublin and Mr. Richie Phillips electrician to Drogheda. From Ballyshannon
station Mr. Patsy McGowan went as goods checker to Dundalk and Mr. Johnnie
Gallagher went as porter-signalman to Dublin. Initially three of the staff at
Ballyshannon station were retained. Mr. J. Flynn, stationmaster, remained in
charge of the road freight section, and
signalman J. Trainor and permanent way ganger J. Boyle remained at the
Ballyshannon station.
The impact on the town of Ballyshannon, of the
closure of the Great Northern Railway sixty years ago in 1957 and two years
later, the closure of the County Donegal Railway, coupled with the end of
the Erne-Hydro Electric Scheme in the
early 1950s, had a lasting effect on the town
and its commerce. In this period "The Donegal Vindicator"
newspaper also closed. Bundoran faced a
challenging time to retain its developing tourism and bus transport increased greatly to the
seaside resort. The closure of the Great Northern Railway in 1957 meant that
business firms receiving goods from Dublin had no direct access by rail. The
nearest railway was Sligo and this involved greater transport costs. Road
freight now became the only viable option. The closure of the G.N.R railway
sixty years ago was a major blow to the local economy and led, for a
period, to increased isolation for this area.
So ended a rich history of railway service to the people of this area
which began 150 years ago and which is still remembered with great affection by
the older generation who travelled on the line.
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Train at Ballyshannon station in 1956 one year
before the railway sadly closed
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Danny McIntyre of the Whitehill, Sheegus,
Ballyshannon in his ballad entitled “Pictures from the Past” echoed what many
people felt about the passing of the railways.
In
dreams I see the trains run on their shining rails of steel,
The
G.N.R. and narrow gauge, their image is so real.
The
platforms and the stations, the people young and old,
How
bitter sweet the memories that dreaming can unfold.
"Ballyshannon Genealogy and History" available to purchase in The Novel Idea, Ballyshannon Museum, O'Neills, Clearys and Local Hands in Ballyshannon.Available also in Four Master's Bookshop in Donegal Town. For postal details contact anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com
Date for your Diary
On Saturday next 9th December at 12 0' clock I will be giving a 20 minute local history talk in the Mercy Hall. This is part of Ballyshannon Enterprise Town with lots of activities in the Mercy Hall from 11-2 p.m. All welcome to this free event hosted by Bank of Ireland and Ballyshannon Chamber.
