Search Results for 'Corrib viaduct'

It is probable that if the coastal route had been chosen for the Clifden railway, rather than the Oughterard/ Maam Cross way, the line would still be viable today. The idea of the so-called ‘Balfour lines’, proposed by an enlightened chief secretary for Ireland, Arthur J Balfour, and given the go-ahead in the 1889 Light Railways (Ireland) Act, was to give far-flung towns and communities access to bigger markets, and to grasp the benefits of employment and opportunities.

FROM ITS earliest days, Galway International Arts Festival has wowed audiences by transforming city streets into sites of magic and bringing the visual verve of circus to indoor venues. This year’s festival again delivers a feast of spectacle and who better to give the lowdown on the hoedown than GIAF artistic director, Paul Fahy.

The Dyke Road was originally known as the Terryland Embankment. In 1847 a group known as The Corrib Development Company applied for compensation claiming they had spent a considerable sum constructing the embankment — at the time the river was prone to serious flooding. The Commissioner for Public Works took over possession of the works after giving evidence in reply to the claim for compensation. They pointed out that the embankment was partially built in 1839, but after the water had risen that winter, it had given way. The company carried out more works of reconstruction in 1840, but the flood waters burst it again. The river would flood on each occasion as far as Castlegar. The embankment was left unfinished until 1845 when the company tried once more but failed to retain the river. They were subsequently compensated. The building of the canal a few years later greatly alleviated the flooding problems.