The Industrial Heritage of Laois.
There is a whole plethora of old industrial heritage and artifacts dotted throughout Laois, much of which are relics and bear witness to busier days in the County.
Days when Laois was a central producer and manufacturer of many of the everyday goods used in Ireland.
Laois once produced Coal around the Wolfhill area and had a fully operational railway line there which is now disused.
The area around the Swan produced Fire bricks and Fire clay and still does to a certain extent I believe.
The photo below is of a railway bridge and what is left of the line at Wolfhill.
At Abbeyleix carpets were once woven while Durrow produced among other things the Durrow Brick.
Mountmellick had a huge Sugar Beet enterprise which only operated for a short while.
It was set up by the famous railway engineer William Dargan and the somewhat notorious "Black Jack" Adair.
The town was home to a Quaker settlement and had many mills and forges.
Both Portarlington and Mountmellick are dotted with many "Bridges to Nowhere".
A casual visitor might wonder what these relics meant while the local is well aware that they crossed the Mountmellick branch of the Grand Canal which is now overfilled and gone.
The Midlands bogs were once busy and a major employer in the form of Bord na Mona.
Bord na Mona extracted peat for burning in now defunct or gas operated Power Stations and for the trusty gardeners bag of Moss Peat.
This industrial scale activity is gradually being abandoned and hopefully the bogs will slowly become rewilded and possibly a place for visitors to enjoy.
Old and now abandoned rail tracks can often be seen in the bogs, ethereal and waiting for a Ghost Train from the past to trundle by.
The indelible signs of former large scale economic activity are all around us but perhaps we often overlook these simple relics.
Agriculture was and still is a large part of most local midland economies.
Agricultural machinery is to be found everywhere and some have lovingly restored many beautiful examples of early machinery.
Stradbally houses a Steam Museum.
Bob's Bar in Durrow has a bicycle "High Nelly" museum and brightly painted agricultural machinery sits outside the Bar.
Unfortunately whenever I pass the Steam Museum it's closed. A fantastic rally is held annually and a big investment and promotion of the museum would make sense in bringing visitors to the area.
Lime Kilns like the one below at Skirke are also found throughout the County. These were used to heat Limestone so that it could be crushed up to make Lime.
Perhaps a ghost from the past stokes the dying embers as we sleep soundly at night.
There are many other relics scattered here and there which serve as reminders of the industrial and economic activity in the area.
The photo below is of a former Forge at Luggacurran.
The old British Letter Boxes are often still in situ along with the old P&T Post Boxes, a reminder of the now defunct Department of Post and Telegraphs which ceased to exist in 1984.
The ER and VR remind us of both King Edward and Queen Victoria and our legacy of Imperial occupation and of Britain's former Empire on which "the Sun never set".
Much I have left out of this post. The topic would lend itself to a complete book or volume of books.
Hopefully this quick post might jog a memory of times and working lives past.
In a short post there is only so much that can be covered so keep the wheels turning and the eyes open and you never know what you might spot right on your doorstep.
The old "Carlow" Waterworks at Killeshin in Laois.
