Select Image Below To Visit The Photo Gallery: July 2021 Visit To Clonsilla Train Station

Photographed By William Murphy - Select Image To View Photographs

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THE DAY DID NOT GO WELL

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In July 2021 I visited Clonsilla as part of my "Royal Canal" project. As I have never visited this exact location before I had little personal knowledge of the area. I photographed the station and some trains before exploring the immediate area. On my return to the n July 2021, I visited Clonsilla for the first time as part of my "Royal Canal" project. Lacking personal knowledge of the area, I spent the morning photographing the station and its surroundings. However, my return journey quickly unraveled. Amidst a string of cancellations, I followed a crowd responding to a vague announcement and boarded a train I believed was headed for Maynooth. Instead, I found myself on the branch line to M3 Parkway.

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I wasn’t initially concerned, assuming a return service to the city centre would be frequent. I was wrong. Due to the "Covid Context" of July 2021, Irish Rail was operating under significant strain. While the national lockdown had eased, modified timetables and staffing shortages meant the M3 Parkway service—normally a 30 to 60-minute peak service—had plummeted to two-hour gaps off-peak. I had fallen into the "No Return" trap; many services were then "shuttle-only," and I was eventually forced to call a taxi to rescue me from the isolated Parkway station.

I now understand that Clonsilla is a notoriously tricky junction where the Maynooth and M3 Parkway lines diverge. Navigating the island platform requires a keen ear for subtle announcements to avoid ending up in Dunboyne instead of Kildare.

A Deep Dive into Railway History The station’s history is as layered as its layout. Opened on 1 September 1848, Clonsilla was one of the four original Western Commuter stations when the line launched in November 1981. It has seen various evolutions, including a 2000 upgrade to the station building and a 2012 refurbishment that added Platform 3 and a new footbridge. Interestingly, the station’s original footbridge was relocated from the former railway station in Listowel, County Kerry.

Today, the junction for the M3 Parkway branch (reopened in 2010) lies just west of the station. Despite modern upgrades, Clonsilla retains a touch of the past: its level crossing is still a gated system operated by a manual wheel in the signal cabin. For those tracing the canal toward Leixlip Confey, you can still spot the red-brick remains of the old Lucan North (Coldblow) station waiting room, a silent reminder of a stop that closed in 1941.

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