Cork tram

A photograph from the Lawrence collection of a tram in Cork City.

Maretimo (Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Library)

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Loading wharf on the River Liffey

The docks of the river Liffey were developed when it emerged that there was a need for better navigation and harbour for boats carrying goods to and from Dublin along the Liffey. Before the 1720s there was little in the way of facilities for loading on the banks of the river, however this soon changed with the developments on the banks in the 18th century. This photo was taken outside the Guinness brewery at Victoria Quay, and was probably taken in the early 20th century. It shows the loading of casks of Guinness onto the steam barges at the loading wharfs outside of the Guinness brewery. These goods would have been transported down the river to the awaiting Channel steamers and other vessels at the North Wall where they would continue their journey to England and abroad for export.

Cork Harbour 1840

Cork Harbour has been a place of trade and travelling for centuries. It is one of the largest natural harbours in the world, with its unusual Great Island situated in the midst of the harbour. The harbour has seen many ships come and go including the Viking tall ships, the royal navies, cruise liners including the Titanic and the Lusitania, and many more. Cork harbour became widely known as a place of refuge and refuelling in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars of the late eighteenth centuries, and early nineteenth centuries. It was also from Cork Harbour that emigrants left for a new life in America aboard the 'coffin ships' and convicts were transported to their life of exile in Australia, in the mid nineteenth century. Cork Harbour has been an important port of the Royal Navy before Ireland's independence, making Cork a great stronghold for the British Government in Ireland. Trade with other European cities was very popular in Cork Harbour especially trade with France, and butter became a huge export from Ireland across Europe from this town.

Canal and Flyboat at Longford

In 1755 two canal routes were proposed to join the Shannon with Dublin. While the Grand Canal was approved for construction, a more northerly route was dismissed. However, later in the 1780s a northerly route similar to that which was previously dismissed was now permitted for construction. The exact route of the canal was not planned, which caused some problems during its construction along with the hindrance of the Grand Canal Company's objection to the northern canal joining the River Shannon via Lough Ree. The canal was finally finished in 1817 reaching the river Shannon at Clondra, Co. Longford. Despite its delay, the quality of work done on the Royal Canal was very high. A total of forty-seven locks (including the sea lock), and four major aqueducts were built to carry the canal over the rivers Ryewater, Boyne and Inny. In total, eighty-six bridges were constructed. Traffic of goods on the Royal Canal was never as good as it was on the Grand Canal and the anticipated trade from Lough Allen did not materialise. However, the passenger service was increased as hotels were built along the route and the speed of the journeys were greatly reduced when lighter "fly" boats were introduced in 1833. This illustration shows a section of the Royal Canal, with a flyboat passing under a bridge. They were hauled along by horses that ran alongside the banks of the canal at a speed of about seven miles per hour.

Bernard Share, Author of the Transport Feature

Bernard Share contributed the material on inland transport to the new Encyclopaedia of Ireland and is consultant to the Heritage Office of Iarnród Éireann. He is a former editor of Cara, the in-flight magazine of Aer Lingus and was founder editor of Books Ireland. His books include Slanguage - A Dictionary of Slang & Colloquial English in Ireland, which is in its second edition; A History of Aer Lingus; Shannon Departures-A Study of Regional Initiatives; and, The Emergency-A Social History of Ireland in World War II. He has also written three novels and books for children. He has lectured in English in Australia and written and broadcast programmes for RTÉ and ABC, Sydney. He lives in Co. Kildare.

Last Day of Passenger Service on Youghal Line

The photo depicts the arrival of the 1pm train from Youghal at the Glanmire Road Station, on the last day of weekday passenger services between Cork and Youghal, 2 Feb 1963. Passengers disembark from the train for the last time and walk along the platform, towards the photographer.

Courtesy of Cork County Library

Colm Creedon, 1985

This photograph captures Colm Creedon, standing on the platform at Youghal, beside a G.S. Society carriage on the Irish Railway Records Society special in 1985. Visible through the window of the carriage is a Roches Stores bag.

Courtesy of Cork County Library