Provision of escalator at Athy Railway Station reminds us of fatal accident at the Station on 5 February, 1884

Work on the escalator to facilitate rail passengers changing platforms at Athy Railway Station seems to be complete. It is the latest improvement to the railway station which was first opened in 1846 with the arrival of a through train on its journey from Dublin to Carlow. For some time in the latter part of the 19th century the local railway station had considerable trouble with newsboys, amongst whom there was great rivalry and who were constantly attempting to cross the railway lines on the arrival of newspaper trains from Dublin. On 5th February 1884 tragedy struck at Athy Railway Station when a young news vendor was killed while attempting to cross the tracks. At that time the station had no footbridge, forcing persons to climb down onto the railway lines to reach the opposite platform. Local newspapers reported the accident and noted that local outrage reached Westminster Parliament where the matter was raised on 4th March 1886. The President of the Board of Trade confirmed to his fellow Parliamentarians that a footbridge was already being erected at the Athy Station. It came too late for 20-year-old John Hamilton who was killed by the Kilkenny train within 20 yards of the railway bridge at approximately 5 minutes to 9 on the morning of Friday, 5th February 1884. He suffered serious injuries and was immediately brought to the station’s first-class waiting room where he was attended by the two local doctors, Dr. Patrick O’Neill, Dr. Kilbride and F.J. Minchin, a local chemist. The injured man’s right arm was amputated while in the waiting room, following which he was transferred to the local workhouse infirmary that evening. He died on Saturday night and the inquest into his death was held in the Workhouse Master’s Office the following Monday afternoon. Dr. Patrick O’Neill, who was Coroner for South Kildare, and also physician and surgeon to the workhouse, was legally incapacitated from acting as Coroner on this occasion and Dr. Smith, Coroner for North Kildare, sas appointed in his place. The Coroners Court heard that as the Dublin train arrived with newspapers, John Hamilton attempted to cross the railway lines as the train was entering the station. Hamilton was seemingly unaware of the approach of the Kilkenny train which struck him. Sergeant Griffin of the local R.I.C. gave evidence of being at the railway station on Friday morning. He was standing on the steps leading to the platform and the station master, Mr. J. O’Connor, was near him. As the train from Dublin was coming into the station the deceased was standing on the steps a few feet in front of him. When the train arrived Hamilton ran to get behind it after one or two of the carriages had passed. Hamilton was obliged to go down to the platform to get behind the train. As the Kilkenny train arrived Sergeant Griffin saw Hamilton wavering on the edge of the platform and stooping forward as if he could not recover himself. He fell forward and the train buffer struck Hamilton before he got on the rail tracks. The Coroner said he understood the deceased was a poor lad and the only support of his mother. It was a wonder to him that more deaths did not occur. It seemed strange, he said, that a very important and a prosperous town like Athy should not be treated in a more liberal way by the railway company. The jury, the foreman of which was T. Byrne, Town Commissioner, gave as its verdict ‘that the deceased John Hamilton died from paralysis caused by a blow from the buffer of the railway engine at Athy station on Friday, 5th February. We consider that the railway company have not at present provided proper provision for the protection of life at Athy station and that therefore a bridge crossing should be erected without delay.’ The proposal to build a foot bridge at Athy station was apparently before the Directors of the Railway Company for a considerable period and we are told that soon following the accident a contract was entered into for the erection of a foot bridge. The bridge was constructed in Germiston, Glasgow by the Arrol Brothers Iron Works and installed at Athy station sometime in 1886. Another Arrol link with Athy is the Arrol Johnson motor car of 1903 vintage which is on display in the Shackleton Museum. John Hamilton, having died in the local workhouse, was more than likely buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery where he rests in an unmarked grave amongst hundreds of deceased workhouse inmates and a lesser number of deceased patients from St. Vincent’s Hospital.