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Transport · Clifden

Clifden railway station

For forty years Clifden was the last stop on a railway that ran 49 and a quarter miles across Connemara from Galway. The directors' inspection train reached the town on 3 May 1895 and the public service began on 1 July that year. When the last train pulled out in 1935 it went with the whistle blowing and detonators set on the level crossing, and the station it left behind is now the Station House, a hotel and theatre, with the museum in the station master's house.

Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.

MGWR Class L No. 589 0-6-0 at Clifden. As this is carrying a GSR number not an MGWR number the date must be between 1925 and 1935
MGWR Class L No. 589 0-6-0 at Clifden. As this is carrying a GSR number not an MGWR number the date must be between 1925 and 1935
Trainiac from Australia, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Station House Museum, Station House Theatre on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.

The Connemara line

The branch was the Midland Great Western Railway's route into Connemara, with stations at Moycullen, Oughterard, Maam Cross, Recess, Ballynahinch and Clifden. The Great Southern Railways closed the whole line on 29 April 1935, and the trackbed and bridges remain across the region.

What is there now

The Station House Museum and the Station House Theatre stand on the old station site and the model on this page pins them. Getting to Clifden today is by road on the N59; the getting-here page has the buses from Galway. The Connemara guide covers the railway in the region's story.

Questions people ask

When did the Clifden railway close?
In 1935; the branch from Galway had opened to the public on 1 July 1895.
How far was Clifden from Galway by rail?
49 and a quarter miles, about 79 km.
What is Clifden station now?
The station building is a hotel and theatre and the station master's house is the Station House Museum.

Written from Wikipedia, "Clifden railway station" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.