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Irish Railway Walks
West Limerick Between 1856 and 1880, a line was built to link the city of Limerick with the town of Tralee in north Kerry. It ran westwards across County Limerick, through the towns of Adare, Rathkeale, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale and then on into County Kerry. The section between Rathkeale and Newcastle West was built in 1867 but the remainder of the line was not finished until 1880. This piecemeal approach to its construction meant that Newcastle West was a terminus station and through trains had to reverse out of it. It also resulted in sections of the line being operated by separate companies until they eventually amalgamated into the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) in 1901. In its time the line was a busy provincial railway with four passenger trains daily to and from Limerick. Operations were inevitably scaled down as the century wore on and in 1963 passenger services to Tralee were terminated. Freight continued to he carried on sections of the line until the relatively recent date of 1977 and the line was not formally abandoned until 1987 when the track was lifted. This makes it the last major closure on the Irish railway system, although the eastern end of the line - the branch to Foynes - is still an operational freight line. Because the line has only lately been abandoned, it is unique in that its land not yet been sold back to the farmers. The Southern Trail Group, based in Newcastle West, hopes to open it as a recreational trail from the Foynes branch to the terminus at Tralee. I have chosen a section which will provide two consecutive day's walking: Rathkeale to Newcastle West and Newcastle West to Templeglantine. For ramblers wanting a longer walk, it is possible to continue onwards from Templeglantine to Listowel and then on into Tralee itself. Either Rathkeale or Newcastle Wet can provide overnight accommodation. Both are attractive towns with some notable historic buildings. They're on the main Limerick to Tralee road (N21) and served by good bus connections.
Map OS (ROI), Sheet 17 (half-inch series). Rathkeale station-house and goods-shed stand close to the roundabout on the new road by-pass. The station-house is built from fine-cut limestone blocks and the perceptive walker may notice its odd orientation with respect to the goods shed. In fact, the station house was moved a short distance, stone-by-stone, from its original location, right beside the roundabout, during construction of the by-pass. The station building now contains the Irish Palatine Heritage Centre which details the history of the settlement of hundreds of German Protestant families in Rathkeale in the early eighteenth century. When leaving the station, take the small tarmac road to the sewage plant. The railway track, now a gravel path, can be joined at the gates there. It runs alongside the main bypass road before crossing over the Deal River on a girder bridge and passes Castle Matrix to its right before corning to an end on the main road. You should walk along the road for about 200m and rejoin the track lied where it emerges on the other side of the road. The railway runs as a narrow passage between thick green walls of ash ;and hawthorn hedgerows. As might be expected, considerable amounts of ballast remain on the track and many discarded sleeper bolts are strewn about. The track advances through the rich, fertile and flat plain of central Limerick and its a result there are not many sizeable embankments or cuttings. Ardagh village lies 7km ahead, due west. The rambler goes under and over some stone bridges and needs to clamber over trees that have been deliberately felled by farmers to prevent cattle straying onto the line. Through the occasional gaps in the hedges, you cam look out over the plain to see the ruins of Anglo-Norman tower houses dotting the countryside. click here for part 2.
From the Appletree Press title: Off The Beaten Track. |
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