On this Day. Great Excitement as the First Train arrived in Ballyshannon, Bundoran and Belleek

The GNR Railway station at Balyshannon nowadays the building is a private residence

On this day 7th June one of the great Ballyshannon, Belleek and Bundoran stories began. Check out photos, verses and memories of the GNR railway in this area since 1867.

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.  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.

Customs down the right of the train at Bllyshannon 

First Passengers Arrived in   Ballyshannon on this day,  7th June 

Bundoran Junction, as it was called, was a spur 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. 
• 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. 

Approaching Bundoran station

Railway Military Memories from World War One and Withdrawal of British Forces

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.

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.

 Train at Ballyshannon station in 1956  one year

before the railway sadly closed

Crossings between Belleek and Ballyshannon 

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. The signalman 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.
Local Services on the Railway
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.

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.

The GNR station was where many families bid farewell to their emigrant children 

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. . 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 three 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 just over 150 years ago and which is still remembered with great affection by the older generation who travelled on the line.

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.

The old GNR bridge on the right  with the new bridge on the

Ballyshannon-Bundoran By-Pass today.

Limited edition quality hardback with dust jacket as above available in A Novel Idea and Local Hands Ballyshannon and Four Masters Bookshop Donegal Town. Also available for postage from anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

Topics include: How to go about Tracing your Roots/The first settlers in the area/ Newly researched history of the town of Ballyshannon and the townlands in Kilbarron and Mágh Éne parishes/ Records of the first travellers and tourists to Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Belleek, Rossnowlagh and Ballintra/An aerial guide to place names along the Erne from Ballyshannon to the Bar/Flora and Fauna of the area/ A history of buildings and housing estates in the locality/Graveyard Inscriptions from the Abbey graveyard, St. Joseph’s and St. Anne’s /Rolling back the years with many memories of the Great Famine, Independence struggle, hydro-electric scheme, Gaelic games, boxing, handball, Boy Scouts, soccer, mummers, characters, organisations, folklore and lots more.