The railway station used in the iconic 1952 movie ‘The Quiet Man’, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, is under threat and may collapse.

Following on from the news that the pub used in the movie was sold to a fan is the announcement that a campaign to save the train station depicted in the movie is now underway.

The campaign has been launched to save Ballyglunin station that was called ‘Castletown’ in the much-loved movie. The campaign is seeking to raise thirty thousand euro to try to repair the roof that is disintegrating.

The history of the railway station dates back to 1860 when the Blake family of Ballyglunin park were said to have their evening meals transported from the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin all the way to Galway! The carriage boxes were insulated with hay in order to keep the meals warm.

The station was closed in 1980 and has been falling into disrepair ever since. The Ballyglunin Community Development Charity wants to open an arts and heritage center at the site.

Mark Gibson is one of the directors of the charity:

‘The Ballyglunin Community Development Charity has huge plans to develop this amazing location, however the roof is now at serious risk of collapse. If nothing is done, we’ll be saying goodbye to an important slice of Irish history.’