Image - Donaghadee in 1932, as represented by the Ordnance Survey. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
Welcome to today’s Railway 200 post! We look at the iconic Donaghadee Harbour in Northern Ireland, which started construction in 1821. It cemented Donaghadee’s importance as the closest port to Scotland on the Northern Irish Coast. In 2021, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the harbour, the Follies Trust published The History Of Donaghadee & It’s Motte, which included a chapter by Robin Masefield on the historic railway presence in Donaghadee. This RAILWAY 200 post is dedicated to Robin, who served as a member of our Council of Experts between 2023 and 2025, and sadly died earlier this year.
Due to the Harbour’s importance, discussions were had about bringing a rail connection to Donaghadee as early as 1845. Under the ownership of the Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR), a line between Belfast and Donaghadee opened in 1861, with the terminus linking directly to the harbour. A section of rail onto the South Pier was completed in 1870, and rail operations in the town were intrinsically joined to the harbour.
Across the Irish Sea, Portpatrick’s railway station opened to the public in 1862. The longstanding packet sailing connection between this Scottish harbour and Donaghadee now effectively formed a key link in a wider transport network that spread throughout the British Isles. It was hoped that this would be a primary route for the Royal Mail, in a joint rail-maritime operation.
As the years went on, however, both harbours began losing significance, and little investment was made for Donaghadee’s railway station. Whilst it attracted some day tourists from Belfast during the summer, rail was increasingly replaced by bus and motor car. In 1950, Donaghadee’s rail connection was closed, with the last train departing for Belfast on 22 April.
Today, there is still some evidence of the historic rail presence in Donaghadee in the landscape and in Railway Street. Where the station’s platform once sat, along with a goods shed and a passenger pavilion, one can now find an organisation which plays an important part in the preservation of the town’s history, the Donaghadee Heritage Preservation Company, and their historic vessel, the lifeboat Sir Samuel Kelly.
Built the same year that rail stopped serving Donaghadee, the lifeboat operated from 1951 until 1976, launching 134 times and saving 79 lives – including saving 22 of the 44 survivors of the MV Princess Victoria in 1953 – with an additional 14 launches and 20 launches in the following three years, whilst on the Relief Fleet. Whilst she did not co-exist with the railway during her service years, Sir Samuel Kelly now lives on where the rail once stood.
See you tomorrow as we continue celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway!
