Work is well advanced to re-create a major part of Co Clare folklore, the West Clare Railway. Already two miles of the narrow-gauge track have been relaid at Moyasta in west Clare, and thousands of tourists are expected this summer to travel on the replica third-class carriages of the West Clare pulled by a locomotive. They can also view the restored station house, the original ticket office and memorabilia.
Jackie Whelan of Moyasta is working on the restoration and is delighted with the progress. He said: "It is a labour of love for me." Jackie remembers in the 1940s helping his father load the train with turf.
The first train ran from Ennis to Milltown in 1887. In the late 1890s the railway became world-famous due to the Percy French song, Are You Right There, Michael, Are You Right? and a court case French took against the railway. Until 1961 the 54-mile line served seaside towns and resorts, including Kilkee and Kilrush.
The project is currently waiting for the restoration of one of the original locomotives that served the West Clare, the Slieve Callan. The locomotive was removed from Ennis amid much local protest in 1996. An Ennis businessman, Oliver Moylan, remain ed on the Slieve Callan as it was transported by road back to west Clare.
Jackie said he expects the £300,000 restoration works on the Slieve Callan "will be complete in another three years. By that time we would be hopeful of being able to connect Kilrush and Kilkee". The project has received £75,000 from the Leader II programme, while Jackie said he had spent £200,000 to date.
"When CIE axed the train, they took the heart out of west Clare. Replacement infrastructure was promised, but it never happened," he said.
Eddie Lenihan, whose In The Tracks Of The West Clare Railway was recently reissued, said the West Clare was so famous that it was a disgrace more had not been made out of it. "It was a real treasure, and I wish them well in their very difficult endeavours," he said.
Oliver Moylan, however, says the Slieve Callan would be better served in Ennis as a monument. He said: "It is a total and utter waste of money, what they are doing. They do not have a hope in hell of connecting Kilrush and Kilkee."
