WRC : Storm in the West - 1976-1978

Описание: This weekend marks 50 years since the closure of the passenger service running from Limerick to Ballina via Tuam.

This short film revisits the storm of protest that unfolded in the months leading up to what many saw as a grave misjudgment by CIE and the Irish Government, culminating in the service’s termination in April 1976. The story is told through contemporary headlines drawn from both local and national newspapers, capturing the mood and reaction of the time.

The campaign to save the railway did not end there. Through 1977, efforts continued to reinstate the passenger service and to defend vital freight services serving communities such as Tuam. Despite these efforts, freight operations ceased in January 1978. Frustration reached a breaking point in April of that year, when three men from Tuam undertook a hunger strike in protest against the ongoing decline of rail services to their town.

This film pays tribute to the resilience and determination of communities across the west of Ireland who fought to preserve the railway between Claremorris, Tuam, and Limerick during the years 1976 to 1978. It especially honours Brian McNamara, Harold Campbell, and Joe Burke, whose hunger strike in Tuam Town Hall stood as a powerful final act in the struggle to save their railway.

The Irish Government in November 2025 confirmed that the Western Rail Corridor (Claremorris–Athenry via Tuam) has been secured as a targeted priority project in the Department of Transport’s Sectoral Plan for the revised National Development Plan. The project is scheduled for delivery by 2030. Enabling works commence in 2026.

Passenger and freight services shall once again be a common sight along the Galway to Mayo railway.

The cine film footage that supports this film was captured by the late Tony Price (Wicklow) and filmed on the penultimate day of Limerick to Ballina passenger services in April 1976.