Irish Railway Architecture

 A beautiful sunny afternoon heralded my arrival at the seaside station of Laytown. Alighting from the train the light bounced off the ice-cream yellow paintwork on the former GNR wooden station building.  Originally opened in 1844 by the Dublin and Drogheda Railway, Laytown promised “celebrated Velvet Strands” and it is not difficult to see why: the station is raised above its nearby coastline, offering views across the southern bay to the hinterland of Braymore Point, whilst Bettystown’s strand, famous for horseracing, is located to the north.   The station built by the DDR still stands, now a private residence, as the two-storey rendered house to the entrance of the car park. Although recorded as built around 1847 by Buildings of Ireland, the Dictionary of Irish Architects records an entry in the Dublin Builder from 1865 where a “new station and two workmen's houses recently erected by Dublin & Drogheda Railway Co.”. The architect is unknown, but it can demise...