THE HEART OF THE TOWN
March 25th is a date which is filled with significance in the town of Fermoy. It was on that date in 1967 that Fermoy Railway Station closed down for good. On that fateful date, the last train ran from Waterford to Cork, via stations such Lismore, Ballyduff, Clondulane, Ballyhooly etc. Truly the end of an era.
As a major stop on the CorkWaterford line, the closing of the Fermoy station was truly a landmark occasion. A sad but inevitable closure or the scandal of the sixties? The jury is still out on that much vexed question.
Anyone who is old enough to remember Fermoy station at its peak has many a fond story to tell of the people who worked there and the trains which passed through it. Our news reporter in 1997, Emmett Coffey, who wrote on the 30th anniversary of the closure in April that year, was continually told that the subject was more worthy of a book that a mere newspaper article, such is the history of the place and the many anecdotes still recounted of the station when it played such an important part in the life of the town.
It can be said without a hint of exaggeration that during the early and mid 1900s, Fermoy station was the economic lifeblood of the town, as well as being an important employer in its own right.
JACKIE & HIS TRUSTY HORSE
During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, rail transportation was the main means of transporting goods and people. Be it food, clothes, mail or any other goods, it was sure to arrive in town by train.
While many people have their own personal memories of Fermoy Railway Station - be it travelling to Cork to an important match, or the seeing off or welcoming home of loved ones - there is one common memory and that is of Jackie Carr and the various other men who operated the horse and car to and from the station.
It was Jackie and his trusty horse and car who delivered provisions to the town’s businesses. It was, without doubt, one of the most important jobs in the town and stories abound of Jackie and his countless journeys to and from the station.
Two people with a store of memories of Fermoy station and who spoke to The Avondhu over 22 years ago, are brother and sister Eddie McConville and Kathleen Redmond, whose father Edmond was station master from 1939 to 1954. Their home for that period was the building which now houses Neligan’s Funeral Home and both recounted many happy times there.
Eddie particularly remembered the crowds that would gather there all year round to see relatives off who were destined for the emigration boat in Rosslare.
Eddie recalled: “The platform would be packed with people, winter (three times a week) and summer (six times a week). There were some very sad scenes there with people seeing off relatives. My abiding memory though is the huge crowds. The platform was often black with people”.
Kathleen Redmond told The Avondhu back in 1997 that there was always activity at Fermoy station, whether it was passenger or good trains stopping.
“Trains were always coming and going. It was the heart of the town and everybody coming and going from the town came through here, as did all goods. Given the huge traffic problem in the town now, we could do with the train lines. It might ease the problem some bit”.
Many people would recall with considerable bitterness the speed with which Fermoy Railway Station was closed.
“This rail link was opened between 1860 and 1876, a period of 16 years, upgraded for boat trains in 1906 and closed down on one day on Saturday, March 25th in 1967”, one observer told The Avondhu.
The announcement was made by the then Minister for Transport, Erskine Childers, and any hopes that this decision would be soon reversed were quickly dashed when many of the rail lines in and around Fermoy were pulled up within a matter of months of the closure.
This was a decision which had huge consequences for the town and its people.
The late Dick Barry, who was a TD for the area at the time, told The Avondhu in 1997 that the closure was the subject of much discussion. “But there was a feeling the decision had been taken and there would be no going back,” he said.
Along with many others, Dick Barry also remembers a promise from Minister Childers at the time to the effect that within a matter of months, a major new roadway would be built between Mallow and Fermoy. It may have had the affect of assuaging people’s fears at the time, but over 50 years later, we still await this new ‘major’ road.
MANY CHANGES IN TOWN
The late Arthur Dowling, whose father Len had the unenviable job of preparing ration parcels for the various shops in the town during the Emergency in his role as store manager, recalled how it must be hard for many to understand the importance of the station.
“The town changed completely when the station closed. Before that, there were no lorries going through the town, everything came by rail. There was little or no traffic through the town, but that all changed. Maybe if we still had the line you wouldn’t see so many large lorries going through the town, clogging up our streets on a continual basis”.
Former rail employee Paddy Power, who was transferred to Cork following the station’s closure, recalled at the time that it was a lonely time in 1967 when the station closed. “There was a great group working there, we had some great times”.
ONLY MEMORIES REMAIN
Much of the old platform still remains in good condition to this day. A trip there now would no doubt bring back many memories for the older generation.
One cannot help but wonder how Fermoy would have developed if the station had remained open. The station itself is now very much a distant memory.