Looking out the Window
Soon the engine starts up and we move off. We travel very slowly at first. Then we gather speed. We can see so much from the train. We can see big green fields and some golden corn fields. It is now late July and the harvest is near. We sway from side to side with the movement of the train.
Carlow Station platform
View from the platfrom at Carlow Railway Station showing tracks on the Dublin-Waterford line. This platfrom has been extended in recent years in order to accomadate the growing numbers of commuters from the Carlow area to workplaces in Dublin.
© Carlow County LibraryCarlow Station platform
© Carlow County Library
© Carlow County Library
Carlow Station platform
View from the platfrom at Carlow Railway Station showing tracks on the Dublin-Waterford line. This platfrom has been extended in recent years in order to accomadate the growing numbers of commuters from the Carlow area to workplaces in Dublin.
© Carlow County LibrarySoon we are in Co. Carlow. As we look out to our left we can see a big stone arch
some distance away. My mother explains that this is the archway leading to Oak Park House
, owned by the Bruen Family. The Bruens have been there for over one hundred years.
Oak Park Archway and Driveway
Oak Park Archway is a magnificent example of a triumphal arch. It leads to the main driveway of Oak Park House, former home of the Bruen family.
Courtesy of Carlow County Library.
Oak Park House, Co. Carlow
The Bruen Family purchased Oak Park, formerly known as Painestown, around the year 1775. In 1832, Henry Bruen commissioned William Vitruvius Morrison to redesign the house. He retained the existing structure as the central component of the new design. Today, Oak Park House and demesne is the property of Teagasc, the agricultural research body. It has recently become their administrative headquarters.
Courtesy of Carlow County Library.
Oak Park House, Co. Carlow
The Bruen Family purchased Oak Park, formerly known as Painestown, around the year 1775. In 1832, Henry Bruen commissioned William Vitruvius Morrison to redesign the house. He retained the existing structure as the central component of the new design. Today, Oak Park House and demesne is the property of Teagasc, the agricultural research body. It has recently become their administrative headquarters.
Courtesy of Carlow County Library.
Plaque to William Dargan
The plaque to William Dargan at Carlow Railway Station. This plaque commemorates the engineer and builder of Irish railways, William Dargan. It was erected by the Old Carlow Society, which is now the Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society.
Image courtesy of Carlow County Library, 2005.Plaque to William Dargan
Image courtesy of Carlow County Library, 2005.
Image courtesy of Carlow County Library, 2005.
Plaque to William Dargan
The plaque to William Dargan at Carlow Railway Station. This plaque commemorates the engineer and builder of Irish railways, William Dargan. It was erected by the Old Carlow Society, which is now the Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society.
Image courtesy of Carlow County Library, 2005.Soon we come to a large stone bridge. Mother tells us it is the Dargan Bridge and called after the great railway engineer, Mr William Dargan. Soon we are at Carlow Station, and the train stops with a creaking of breaks and a great hiss of steam.
Lots of passengers are waiting for the train. The strangers with the big trunks get off and are met by a finely dressed lady with a large feathered hat. A little boy in a sailor suit with a hoop and a stick stands by her side.
A Glimpse at 1846
The old man who shares our compartment says that it was in 1846 that the first train pulled in to Carlow Station. He also remembers seeing Bishop Haly
here one day. He was talking to a group of young girls who were emigrating to Australia.
Bishop Francis Haly (1783-1855)
Bishop Francis Haly was Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin from 1838-1855. He is buried in Carlow Cathedral beside Bishop James Warren Doyle (J.K.L.).
Image courtesy of Carlow County Library .
The Carlow Workhouse
This photograph was taken by Jim Banbury for the Office of Public Works in around 1955.
Image courtesy of Carlow County Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP).The Carlow Workhouse
Image courtesy of Carlow County Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP).
Image courtesy of Carlow County Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP).
The Carlow Workhouse
This photograph was taken by Jim Banbury for the Office of Public Works in around 1955.
Image courtesy of Carlow County Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP).
The girls were going from the workhouse to make a new life. He was giving them his blessing for their journey. The Carlow Workhouse is a large building situated on the Kilkenny Road. Poor people who are destitute work there for their keep.