Plans for national railway museum launched for Moyasta West Clare

Run_to_da_hills

Anyone passing between Kilkee and Kilrush over the last decade would have noticed the West Clare rail museum. Now this place has been earmarked for the one of the largest rail museum in the country

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1203/1224259990172.html

finbarrk

Good man Jackie! Your enthusiasim is amazing.

Dr Kamikazi

Wow, I'm officially amazed!
I've been there a few times and the stories you get told there will never get old.
It's great to see that something of this scale has been brought about by sheer persistence and enthusiasm. This will be a major tourist attraction as well as something for the locals.
I love that place and have the certificate to prove it! (I adopted a railway sleeper there a long time ago)
Good on yer, and good luck going forward!
Now if that guy can resurrect an ancient railway, maybe we can get him to take on Shannon Airport, who knows what he can do with that!
We need many more people like Jackie Whelan who can think of possibilities rather than obstacles, Clare has motorways linking us with Galway and Limerick, rail links, airport, industrial estate, tourist attractions, scenery, etc... We have more going for us than we can possibly imagine.
We cannot conceivably fail, just find anyone who is in charge, get rid of them and put people with vision at the helm.

drunken_munky52

Apparently the council are concerned about the proximity to the existing railway, so they can safegaurd the west clare railway for possible future re-opening if the line in the future. Tis a long shot, but is indeed forward thinking on the councils part... too many bad planning decisions made in the past, lets get things right now that the party is over and spend whatever money we have wisely.

Jim Martin

This sounds daft as there would seem to be plenty of room for both the museum and the operating railway!

Dr Kamikazi

Sounds like the regulare "Ah jaysus, we can't be having that here now, ah jaysus nobody would be wanting that here now, now there's no call for that sort 'a thing here now" gombeenery that local councils usually engage in.
Acting as if creative and visionary ideas in business are some kind of dangerous voodoo that must be avoided at all costs.
They're cockrels on their dung heap and their job is to keep their dungheap in order and they don't think further that.
Clare has an international airport, shipping (not that anyone had the vision to build a harbour in Clare), industrial estate, motorway, tourist attractions, but it will NEVER become anything more than the two bit farming county it now is, because especially in clare we waste all these assets because the stupid, ignorant gombeens who run this show aren't even as switched on as your average hermit that lives somewhere under a rock.
These guys are SO stupid they don't even realise the potential of what they have at their disposal, if Clare put even a 5% effort in, we would be running ahead of the rest of the country at international rates.
Maybe the idiots in Dublin are to be blamed too, they just want to siphon everything from the country to get for themselves in the capital, sure who cares about the bog?
Which brings us back to the human garbage that is representing us up there, or shall I say stabbing us in the back (Shannon London anyone?)
The running of Clare is WAY to important to leave it to brainless little runts like Killen and Dooley, we must take matters into our own hands, depose these idiotic weasles and backstabbers and turn over the running of this entire country if need be to people who actually understand what they are doing, unlike the useless idiots, misfits, runts, lunatics and other assorted human garbage in power.
Got a bit off the point, but things like these are just a symptom of what is wrong with this country.
And these things will never be right, it will always be a gombeen run idiotic hole 20 years behind the rest of Europe.

katkin

Well said Dr. Kamikaze! Was very cynical when I read about Clare County Council's objections to the location and I hope it purely is related to future planning and not some cynical move on their part to protect their honeypot Cliffs of Moher site, wouldn't want too much competition now would we.

drunken_munky52

Your both right. They sure didn't safegaurd the old Ennis to Moyasta railway line, so they are obviously talking out of their arse with their excuses. Any other theories?

katkin

Don't know but its one to watch, will be looking out for Clare Co Co throwing every kind of obstacle they can come up with in the path of this project. Maybe they don't like the entrepreneurial spirit in areas of heritage and preservation - the West Clare Railway is rather iconic and grabs headlines, something so iconic in the county has never been preserved or promoted by our visionless council - I'd say there's a touch of sour grapes, and embarressment that it takes an individual and small community with vision to preserve this part of our history.

drunken_munky52

Without this going to far into a bitching rant about Clare CoCo, I would like to bring a few notable FUPS they have brought down on this county over the years. The most notorious story i heard, was one of down right paddy mick with dynamite doesnt know what he is doing scenario. I refer to the council's attempts to make an area of rocky cliff near Kilkee safe, by blowing the cliff to smithereens, in the hopes of stopping huge swells topping over, sweeping mackeral fishers away. This idiotic act actually made the situation worse and now the area is no-mans land... go at your own peril. And to think they just abandoned their mistake and put up signs to warn people is even worse!

Run_to_da_hills

Looks like he got what he wanted:

"Clare County Council has given the go-ahead for Ireland’s largest rail and road museum at Moyasta, west Clare, in spite of concerns by the National Roads Authority (NRA).

The proposal is part of the West Clare Railway tourist attraction which has seen numbers treble since the return of a 115-year-old Slieve Callan steam engine last August.

The museum proposal is the brainchild of entrepreneur and driving force behind plans to rejuvenate the west Clare railway Jackie Whelan.

Mr Whelan said yesterday he hoped to begin work in the next number of months on the museum. “I am delighted. It will be a huge boost to west Clare.”

The sole objector is Moyasta native David Browne, who has said he will appeal to Bord Pleanála any decision to grant permission to the museum..

Mr Whelan also faces the prospect of the NRA lodging an appeal with Bord Pleanála.

The authority has a high rate of success in appealing council decisions, and in its submission it says the project is located on a section of the N67 national road where the maximum speed limit applies.

“Therefore, it would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard and obstruction of road-users due to the movement of the extra traffic generated.

“The proposed development by itself, or by the precedent which the grant of permission for it would set, would adversely affect the use of the national road by traffic.”

Mr Whelan would require permission from the NRA for a rail line to cross the main road linking Kilkee and Kilrush.

He said: “If they allow Luas lines in Dublin, allowing a rail line cross a road in west Clare shouldn’t be a problem.”

Mr Whelan confirmed that he wants to lay down two miles of track over the next two months to Kilkee “and with the good will of the people extend the line eventually to Kilkee and Kilrush”.

In its granting of planning, the council says that no development can take place on the site until such time as permission has been obtained from the Railway Safety Commission.

The planner in the case states that “in terms of visual amenity and rationale for the chosen site, it is considered that on balance, having regard to the nature of the proposal, it would be acceptable”.

The council has granted permission having regard to the zoning of the site, the existing use established on site, the intended use of the proposed building, the policies of the county development plan, and the pattern of development in the area.

The council found that the proposed development would not seriously harm the amenities of the local area or of property in the vicinity".

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0309/1224265878904.html

Jim Martin

It would do no harm for the NRA to impose a speed restriction through Moyasta anyway as the current "no limit" situation is very dangerous.

Run_to_da_hills

Jim Martin wrote: »

It would do no harm for the NRA to impose a speed restriction through Moyasta anyway as the current "no limit" situation is very dangerous.

Sorted

katkin

So much for my earlier conspiracy theories This is good news anyway

katkin

Can't find any link online but read in Irish Times that the NRA brought an appeal against Clare Co. Cos. granting of the planning permission and that the objection has been upheld by An Bord Pleanala. So looks like it's been scuppered.

rainbowdash

There was a level crossing on the main Limerick - Dublin road until recently until the motorway was opened and it wasn't a problem. As was said already they should slap a 30 zone in Moyasta.