Conference tallis::celt

    You probably saw the remains of the old line to Valentia island.Like
    many a small Irish branchline,it was sacrificed on the altar of
    efficiency and economics long ago.

    On the same thought, I noticed many canals throughout Ireland, which
    at one time were used for transportation of goods (mostly produce?)
    throughout the country.  Trucks soon displaced the need for canals.
    But there is a recent revival of canal interest for pleasure boating.
    Companies rent houseboats for travel throughout canals and rivers.
    There is one company which rents them on the Shannon, allowing passage
    from Limerick to Carrick-on-Shannon.   It must be a pleasant way to
    tour the countryside.  Next trip!
    
    Gone but resurrected.

In Wales, there used to be railroad lines to every small town.
Now there are very few, and mostly they seem designed to provide 
transportation between Wales and England, not within Wales.  In fact, 
until a couple of years ago, there were two separate systems (one in
the north and one in the south) that weren't even connected
within Wales, just in England (eg via London).  Now you can get 
from one to the other via a private scenic line, which is something.

But it is efficient *personal* transportation that sealed the doom  
of the railroads.  There lies your altar of efficiency and economics - 
not in government offices, but in each of our garages.  Sigh.  

	Larry

    Yes.
    
    The girl from Kerry.

    Talking about the revival of canals and the increase of pleasure
    boating on Inland waterways, you might be interested to know there
    is a feasibility study by Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh County Councils 
    into the linking of Lough Erne and the river Shannon by a man-made waterway.
    This would mean a cruiser could travel from Belleek (the pottery
    town) in West Fermanagh down to Limerick along the longest river and 
    Lough in the British Isles.
    If the plan gets the go-ahead it will be largely funded by the EEC.
    
    -Ray.

    
    The line to Valentia was built by a company who quarried
    slate on the Island, when the quarry closed so did the line..

    If you went around the ring you must have passed my old home town
    of Sneem, ahhh,, Sneem the seat of presidents, queens, and
    just about the wettest place I know. :-)

    Jonathan
    

    hello Jona,
    
    Well when you mentioned Sneem, all the memories came flooding back
    to my holidays there. Ros Dathan Island (spelling ?). I remember
    my sister broke her leg there near the bridge in the centr of the
    village. The was a pus called Moriaritys (spelling ?) right beside
    the bridge. The greens on both sides of the bridge and the clouds
    as they hung over the mountains and the telephone with the crank
    handle outside a shop.

    There was a great old restaurant on the far side of the village
    with a pub opposite and the Gard� station near by. I always had
    a chance in the pub to speak in Irish.
    
    A great place Sneem. My father knows it better than me, he spent
    a lot of time as a young man there. I cannot remember the family
    name but I think it was Miles O' Shea that my father palled around
    with when he was there. Miles was chauffer for some local man. There
    is a family around Ros Dahtan Island by the same name and the 2
    boys are in England working there for years.

    I used to meet the Roches (of Roches Store) there as they had a
    a house there. I was at a few old dances in the hall near the church
    in my time, great crack. There was a family called the Coopers who
    used to spend the summer there, I remember this as I fancied their
    daughter, Ema.
    
    
    Maybe you can tell me more about Sneem and what it's like today.
    
    
    Ren� (Br�n agus tearsach de bheith thar s�ile)        

    Anybody know what the return fare would be Dublin<->Belfast and
    Dublin<->Cork?