Transport

The Barrow.
[ photo: County Museum. ]

Good use has been made of the River Barrow over the centuries for the transportation of goods and it was one reason for the early fortifications being located there. Up until 1960, the Barrow Navigation provided a regular transport link for heavy goods and although it has been closed for over 45 years the system of locks has been maintained and now provides an attraction for boating holidays.

Over the coming years Carlow will see the development of a new motorway through the county, the turning of the sod only carried out in the past few months. Trains are proving popular once again now that the county is experiencing the commuter culture but unfortunately too late for the Tullow railway which has been completely removed. One of the great legacies to modern transport lies with Carlow man William Dargan, who during the mid nineteenth century constructed more than 1,000 miles of Irish railway.

Industrialist, William Dargan.
[ photo: County Museum. ]

William Dargan was born in County Carlow in 1799. He worked with Telford on the construction of the Holyhead road in 1820. Dargan returned to Ireland where he set up his own construction company. In 1834 he completed the railway line from Dublin to Kingstown, the first in Ireland and in the following years constructed hundreds of miles of railway as well as completing the Ulster Canal. Through his company, he built dry docks, reclaimed land, improved harbours, pioneered the development of the seaside resort of Bray in County Wicklow and was a major investor in Irish industries. Dargan is regarded as being a key influence in the economy of nineteenth century Ireland.

Much of the rail lines he built are still in use and nationally in his honour, the new transport system in Dublin city, LUAS named its impressive bridge in Dundrum after him.