The old platform: a Victorian relic in ruins

Regan Kelly

The first sections of the Midland Great Western Railway line came to Mullingar in 1846 and in its heyday, Mullingar railway station had multiple lines and platforms serving huge parts of the country, including Dublin, Longford, Galway, Cavan, Athlone and Sligo. The railway was a huge source of employment for the people of north Westmeath.

Near the train station, there was a large track laying depot, a turntable, engine shed, staff accommodation and a coal depot. Much of it can still be seen to this day. According to historian Ruth Illingworth, a military report from 1870 detailed Mullingar railway station as being “a constant hive of activity” and was “almost the very focus of the whole rail network in Ireland”.

It remains one of the busiest train stations in the midlands, but as many locals are well aware, the Athlone line has been out of passenger services since the 1980s. It carried freight trains and was used for rare excursions for some time after that.

Easily overlooked once you are in the station is a gated wall, and behind that lies the old Athlone line platform, which has fallen into disrepair since the closure of the line.

Its impressive architecture is still visible though, and it is an ode to Ireland’s Victorian past and the central position of Mullingar in Irish railways.

The platform closed off with a safety gate, and much of the old line is covered with bushes and overgrown shrubs, which block the view of a once heavily used platform.

In response to a query from the Westmeath Examiner about the condition of the platform, Irish Rail said: “We plan to undertake vegetation clearance in September, once the nesting season has finished. There are no further plans at present.”

With no further plans for the platform, it remains uncertain what will happen to it, and many locals expressed frustration and sadness about the platform on a Westmeath Examiner social media post showing video of the old platform.

Mullingar railway station remains one of the finest examples of Victorian architecture in Westmeath, and with the Old Rail Trail linking us to Athlone, the old platform could do with a new lease of life.