Conservation group ask for keys to rail stations

The chairman of the board of trustees of Kilmainham Museum has called on Irish Rail to hand over the keys to the disused railway sheds at Mullingar and Athlone and has said that he will lead a group of volunteers to re open the rail link between the towns.Damien Cassidy who was part of the group that restored Kilmainham starting in 1960 is hoping to garner support from Westmeath politicians for his attempt to re open the rail link. Mr Cassidy was also involved with the restoration of Bewley's Cafe and St Catherine's Church on Thomas Street in Dublin.The Dublin based lawyer said last week; "if the powers that be won't do it then we will".Mr Cassidy said that after getting "nowhere" for the last seven years and given the present economic climate, the public would have to take the matter into their own hands of the rail link is ever to be restored."We have held meetings in Mullingar before and they have been very well attended," he said. "We are talking about 30 miles of track that needs to be restored and up to date signals have to be put in place but we can do it. We did it with Kilmainham and we can do this."When we asked for the keys to Kilmainham we were told that it was impossible but after a long struggle we did it. Kilmainham is now one of the country's top tourist attractions and has 70 paid staff. We have to face the prospect that the country is not going to stay afloat unless we invest in one vital area; tourism. If we don't get that right we are in worse trouble that we think."Waterways Ireland have just had a success in re opening the Newry canal. It is obvious now that we cannot depend on the government to do this for us, we have to do it for ourselves."Why do we not have a rail link to the west of this country? How much money has been spent on the Luas and nothing at all has been spent in the rest of the country."Restoring this link would ultimately allow access to Galway and to Cork. We are constantly being told that there are too many cars on the road but are doing nothing about it. Reopening the rail link makes environmental and financial sense."I am doing this because I don't like to see things taken away from me. I have travelled the length of the country on the railways and I want everyone else to have the chance to do the same."Mr Cassidy will be appealing for help with the project in the coming weeks. Anyone interested in helping with the project can contact him on 0857711365.