This,
the second railway station to be built in Athlone was constructed
for the Great Southern and Western Railway company and opened
in 1859. For many years there was great rivalry between the
two railway companies who developed the railway stations in
Athlone but this was subsequently solved by arbitration.
In the 1920s this station was designated as the goods station
for Athlone and served in that capacity until 1985 when it became
the mainline railway station for the town. The design by Wilkinson,
who was also the architect to the Irish Poor Law and who designed
the common plan for the workhouses of Ireland, is far simpler
in concept than Mulvany's offering.
It is a simple but elegant Italianate design of five-bays and
two storeys. In this case success of the design is in its simplicity
and in the decorative features - the entrance with its three
arches supported on Doric pillars and the attractive ashlar
architraves on the windows all add to the elegance of this quality
piece of Irish railway architecture.
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