With much fanfare Charles Stewart Parnell MP cut the first piece of turf for the West Clare Railway line on January 26th, 1885. The railway started operating in 1887. It ran two routes from Ennis, Co Clare, diverting at Moyasta Junction, where the trains pictured are parked.
From its earliest days the railway line was beset by issues. So infamous was the poor quality of its tracks and timekeeping that in 1902 the artist Percy French made it the subject of his song, Are Ye Right There Michael?
French sued the railway company for loss of earnings after its delays prevented him from attending a performance. The railway appealed – French was over an hour late for the appeal; as he told the judge, “I took the West Clare Railway here, your honour”. The appeal was unsuccessful.
CÍE closed the line in 1961, as it was losing the equivalent of more than €1.2 million every year.
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From the mid-1990s onwards local preservation societies began organising to re-create part of the original route.
In 2009 the Slieve Callan steam train, which ran on the railway from 1892 to 1952, was returned to Moyasta junction after being restored. The project was funded by local businessman and train enthusiast Jackie Whelan. He was granted permission to build a museum and cafe. For a few years the site offered short rides on its steam train during summer.
In June 2022 the West Clare Railway museum and heritage site announced that it was closing indefinitely. Today the site is derelict and many of the trains have been vandalised.
