Ironing the Land: The Coming of the Railways to Ireland.
Author: O’CONNOR, Kevin.
Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1999. viii, 147 pages. Illustrated. Hardback.
Ironing the Land tells the thrilling story of the railways in Ireland.
The railway was the greatest advance in human mobility in all history. This book recalls the heroic early days of Ireland’s railway system, how it opened up the entire counytryside. It brought the city to the country: newspapers and books; processed food; day trippers and tourists. It brought the country to the city: people eager for work and the bright lights; ambitious young men with new horizons; emigrants.
There were mainline systems operating radially from Dublin — to Belfast, Derry, Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Wexford. In the late nineteenth century, a great network of narrow gauge lines was built in the West of Ireland. They were not economic but they were the stuff of romance: the West Clare, the Cavan & Leitrim, the Londonderry & Lough Swilly.
The twentieth century first brought decline; then consolidation; and finally renewal. As we approach the millennium, the Irish railways are in good order.
Ironing the Land tells their inspiring story in words and pictures.
Ironing the Land is published to coincide with the television series of the same name, made by Imagine Ltd for RTE.
ISBN: 0717127478
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