Great Southern Trail near Ardagh,
Co. Limerick, Éire

It was on a sunny afternoon in January 2017 that I made use of an idea that in my mind for a few years: to walk between Newcastle West and Ardagh by means of the Great Southern Trail. Until 1978, this was the rout of the railway line between Limerick and Tralee or Fenit and the old station house for Ardagh and an adjacent disused platform appears at the right of the photo. Unlike its Newcastle West counterpart, the house remained disused and had yet to come into private ownership or be restored in another way. This also was where I turned back to attend to other matters, but the chance for further explorations cannot be ruled out either.