Confey is a townland in the civil parish of Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland. It is located on the Royal Canal, about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southeast of Leixlip town centre.
The Battle of Confey or Cenn Fuait was a battle fought in Ireland in 917 between the Vikings of Dublin and the Irish King of Leinster, Augaire mac Ailella. It led to the recapture of Dublin by the Norse dynasty that had been expelled from the city fifteen years earlier by Augaire’s predecessor, Cerball mac Muirecáin of Uí Fáeláin, and his ally Máel Finnia mac Flannacáin, the King of Brega. The Battle of Confey took place during a time of increased Viking attacks. The victorious Vikings were led by Sigtrygg Caech (also called Sigtrygg Gael or Sitric the Blind). The Annals of the Four Masters include among the 600 Irish dead several leaders in addition to Augaire mac Ailella the King of Leinster: “Maelmordha, son of Muireagan, lord of Eastern Life; Mughron, son of Cinneidigh, lord of the three Comainns and of Laois; Cinaedh, son of Tuathal, lord of Ui-Feineachlais; and many other chieftains, with the arch-bishop Maelmaedhog, son of Diarmaid, who was one of the Ui-Conannla, Abbot of Gleann-Uisean, a distinguished scribe, anchorite, and an adept in the Latin learning and the Scotic language.”
Augaire was killed by Palmairslau also known as Palner Tokesen from Funen, the father of Palnatoke.
Norse settlers founded the town of Leixlip after the battle. Sitric was a member of the Norse dynasty which had ruled Dublin from the middle of the ninth century until 902. In that year the Ivar II, King of Dublin, and his family were driven from the city by Cerball mac Muirecáin Ó Fáeláin the King of Leinster and Máel Finnia mac Flannacáin the King of Brega. In the Annals of Ulster Sitric Caech and Ívarr II are both referred to as ua Ímair, “grandson of Ímar”, a reference to Ivar I, who was the King (or co-regent) of Dublin from about 853 until his death in 873 and the ancestor of most of the Norse rulers of the city. Sitric, therefore, was either a brother or a first cousin of the ousted Ivar II (who had died in Scotland in 904). It is probably safe to assume that he was born in Dublin and was a young man when he and his family fled for their lives in 902.
Following his victory at Cenn Fuait, Sitric occupied Dublin, which was to remain a Norse stronghold until the King of Dublin was ousted by Diarmuit mac Maél na mBó, King of Leinster and later High King of Ireland, in the year 1052.
I only visited this station once and that was in 2016 and it was not a pleasant experience because of the lack of space. According to some that I spoke with it cannot cope with demand during morning or evening rush-hour.
Great Victoria Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is one of two major stations in the city, along with Lanyon Place, and is one of the four stations located in the city centre, the others being Lanyon Place, Botanic and City Hospital. It is situated near Great Victoria Street, one of Belfast’s premier commercial zones, and Sandy Row. It is also in a more central position than Lanyon Place (ironically named Belfast Central until September 2018), with the Europa Hotel, Grand Opera House and The Crown Liquor Saloon all nearby.
Great Victoria Street station shares a site with Europa Buscentre, the primary bus station serving Belfast City Centre. It will be replaced by Belfast Grand Central station, a combined bus and railway station, by 2025.
The station is on the site of a former linen mill, beside where Durham Street crossed the Blackstaff River at the Saltwater (now Boyne) Bridge.
The Ulster Railway opened the first station on 12 August 1839. A new terminal building, probably designed by Ulster Railway engineer John Godwin, was completed in 1848. Godwin later founded the School of Civil Engineering at Queen’s College.
The station, built directly on Victoria Street, was Belfast’s first railway terminus, and as such was called just “Belfast” until 1852. By this time, two other railway companies had opened termini in Belfast, so the Ulster Railway renamed its terminus “Belfast Victoria Street” for clarity. In 1855 the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway was completed, making Victoria Street the terminus for one of the most important main lines in Ireland. The Ulster Railway changed the station name again to “Great Victoria Street” in 1856, in line with a change of the street name.
In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the Great Northern Railway (GNR), making Great Victoria Street the terminus for a network that extended south to Dublin and west to Derry and Bundoran.
Express passenger traffic to and from Dublin Connolly station was always Great Victoria Street’s most prestigious traffic. The GNR upgraded its expresses over the decades and in 1947 introduced the Enterprise non-stop service between the two capitals. As Belfast suburbs grew, commuter traffic also grew in volume.
In 1958, the Ulster Transport Authority took over Northern Ireland’s bus and rail services. Three years later Great Victoria Street station was modernised, and a bus centre incorporated into the facility. Then in 1968, a large section of the 1848 terminal building was demolished to make way for the development of the Europa Hotel, which opened in 1971. In April 1976 Northern Ireland Railways closed both Great Victoria Street and the Belfast Queen’s Quay terminus of the Bangor line and replaced them both with a new Belfast Central Station, now renamed Lanyon Place. The remainder of Great Victoria Street station was demolished.
After a feasibility study was commissioned in 1986 it was agreed that a new development on the site, incorporating the reintroduction of the Great Northern Railway, was viable. The Great Northern Tower had already been built on the site of the old station terminus in 1992, and so the second Great Victoria Street Station was built behind the tower block, yards from the site of its predecessor. The new station was opened on 30 September 1995.
The current station has two island platforms providing a total of four platform faces. Platforms 2 and 3 run the full length of the site and open onto the station’s main concourse. Platforms 1 and 4 are half the length and are accessible by walking down the other platforms.
Many years ago I was standing on the platform in Dun Laoghaire railway station and a tourist asked me how to get to Mallin Station and I could not help her. I had lived near Malin Head in Donegal for about ten years and was unaware of a station near there. Over a period of about twenty years I was employed by three different companies in Dun Laoghaire and had been unaware that the station was named “Mallin”. The next morning I asked at least ten people at work if they knew how to get to get to Mallin Station and only one person had heard of it but they thought that it was in Dalkey.
Also called Kingstown Harbour the station was renamed Kingstown in 1861, and renamed Dún Laoghaire in 1921. It was given the additional name “Mallin” on 10 April 1966, 50 years after the Easter Rising, when Córas Iompair Éireann renamed 15 major stations after Republican leaders. It is named in honour of Michael Mallin, a leader in the 1916 Easter Rising. although it is usually referred to simply as Dún Laoghaire.
NEW RAILWAY STATION AT PELLETSTOWN -WHERE IS THAT?
I am willing to bet that you never heard of Pelletstown but the area has attracted much attention as it now has a new train station which I will find useful going forward especially as there is a train every 30 minutes in either direction. At peak times the frequency is higher.
During my visit I photographed both sides of the track and both sides of the Royal canal as well a a public park which I had been unaware of until today. The public park is named Ashington Park and it is described as a green space by Dublin City Council.
Pelletstown railway station is a railway station on the Western Commuter line in the Cabra area of Dublin, Ireland, beside the Royal Canal.
The station was opened on 26 September 2021 by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, becoming the first new station to open on the Iarnród Éireann network since Oranmore railway station opened in 2013.
Planning permission was originally granted in 2014, with modified permission approved in 2018. In 2018, Iarnród Éireann stated that construction would begin in 2019, but the groundbreaking did not take place until February 2020.
The station is adjacent to the 8th Lock residential quarter development, owned by German investor Union Investment.
Seapoint railway station serves the locality of Seapoint, between Blackrock and Salthill in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland.
The station is a bit isolated as there is no direct public transport to or from the station. The nearest bus stops are on Monkstown Road, located 450 m from the station.
The station opened on 1 July 1862 and was originally called Monkstown & Seapoint, though the following year this was changed to just Seapoint. It was electrified in 1984 with the arrival of DART services.
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