Athlone
has two fine railway stations of which this was the earliest.
The first public train stopped here on August 1st, 1851 and
the last on January 13th, 1985. This station was built by the
Midland Great Western Railway Company to the design of J.S.
Mulvany. It has a long, rather austere façade, in the
Italianite style. This two-storey building has a staggering
seventeen-bay façade which is broken by four breakfronts.
The building has square headed windows at ground floor level
and round headed windows at first floor level. It is a very
good example of early Irish railway architecture by the architect
who also designed the Broadstone railway station in Dublin.
In terms of its artistic design and the high quality of the
detailing (eg. the Doric pilasters and beautiful ashlar chimney-stacks)
this station building is an extremely important component of
the architectural heritage of Athlone.
Since 1985 it has served as engineering offices and stores for
Irish Rail. This building greatly enhances the approach to Athlone
from the west especially when viewed with the splendid railway
bridge.
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