Castlebar Train Station opened on 12 December 1862. Claremorris opened the previous May; Westport followed four years later. As travel times decreased, those desperate to trade the poverty of Mayo for the hope of a better life in one of the burgeoning cities across the Irish sea could be in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester or London in two days.
Patrick Bourke left Mayo long before the steam locomotives came west. When he arrived at Castlebar Train Station on New Year's Eve 1862, he was among the first to travel between Claremorris and Castlebar. Born in 1790 in Dunmacreena, Bourke left his parents at 12 to live with Major Michael Browne of Woodstock. His sister married Henry Browne of Westport. He later moved to Ballinville to live with Mr Palles before joining the South Mayo Militia. When the regiment was disbanded, Bourke resided in Dublin. In 1820, he moved to Leeds.
The Leeds Guardians employed John O'Rourke as a removal officer. On 30 December 1862, he received a warrant for the removal of Patrick Bourke from Leeds Workhouse to Westport Workhouse. O'Rourke allowed Bourke his breakfast before a cab took them to the train station. There, two third-class tickets to Dublin were purchased. The train had no third-class carriages, so the pair were permitted to travel in second class. O'Rourke bought a ham shank and buns for himself and bread and cheese for Bourke. They changed carriages at Stalybridge; at Crewe, O'Rourke purchased two glasses of beer and gave one to Bourke. Then at Holyhead, they boarded the steamer for Dublin.
O'Rourke did not book a cabin for Bourke; instead, he gave the cook a shilling to allow Bourke to sit by the fire. O'Rourke visited him during the night. The steamer departed at 3am and docked at North Wall six hours later. The pair disembarked and walked to the Commercial Temperance Hotel on Capel Street. At breakfast, Bourke ordered bread, butter, and tea; O'Rourke had eggs. O'Rourke purchased half an ounce of tobacco for Bourke and asked him if he had friends to visit in Dublin. Bourke declined – after forty-two years, he did not know where to find them. The pair had tea at 4pm but declined dinner. The following day, they walked to Broadstone train station. Third-class train tickets and seats on the Bianconi Car from Castlebar to Westport were purchased.
On the train, Bourke sat alone eating cheese and bread and some ham O'Rourke had given him. He drank from a bottle of non-alcoholic wine a man at the hotel gave him. At Castlebar, they climbed aboard the long, open, horse-drawn car. O'Rourke borrowed an oilskin coat to cover Bourke. Bourke complained of the cold during the ten-mile journey – both men were wet below the knees. At Westport, driver John Quinn recommended Clampett's house for tea. O'Rourke bought whiskey for himself and the driver; he mixed some of it with Bourke's wine.
O'Rourke paid a boy to take them up the hill to the workhouse. Porter George O'Malley and workhouse master Philip McGinn questioned O'Rourke about the appropriateness of bringing Bourke from Leeds. Bourke had severe diarrhoea. He was given medical attention and the last rites before dying on January 13. Dr Alexander Johnston concluded that Bourke was suffering from chronic bronchitis, a weak heart, and general debility – his removal from Leeds at such a time and in such a state hastened his death. A public inquiry followed.
John Clampett gave evidence that Bourke could scarcely walk to the workhouse, was hardly dressed, and could barely speak. A doctor had certified that Bourke was fit to travel, but the certificate was dated seven days before departure. The fact that Bourke was ill in Leeds Workhouse hospital for several months was not recorded. The doctor was censured for inadequate record-keeping. The Leeds Guardians did not want the financial burden of caring for the old and sick man. Resolutions were adopted to ensure that paupers subject to a removal order should be given warm clothing and that the medical certificate of fitness to travel should be procured and signed on the removal date.
