Turnpikes, Toll Roads and Coach Inns
From 1729 Acts of Parliament were passed to enable the establishment of trusts to bring improvements in the country’s roads for commercial purposes. Turnpike Trusts were formed by local landlords, merchants and gentlemen who invested their wealth in building roads. Their return on such investment gave them a right to impose levies on road users. Tolls were imposed approximately every 30 miles.
In 1709, a journey from Moate to Athlone in Co Westmeath took three hours, whilst a journey from Dublin to Naas took five hours. The first stage coach ran from Dublin to Kilkenny in 1728. It was known that those who travelled by stage coach often made their wills before travelling due to the uneven road conditions and intrepid weather.
The first turnpike road from St James’s Fountain to Kilcullen, Co. Kildare was constructed in 1729. The first toll gate after the turnpike out of the city of Dublin was later known as The Black Lion on what we know as Tyrconnell Road. A second turnpike was located at Kilmainham and Mullingar Road at the Cow and Calf Inn which was replaced by the Inchicore Railway Works in 1844. Another turnpike was located at the Halfway House and also at the Red Cow, Naas Road.
Inns were dispersed along these roads, where travellers could stop for refreshments and accommodation. The Black Lion Coaching Inn was established on the west side of the first toll gate, later known as Tyrconnell Road. By 1734, the Inn moved further up the street to the junction of what is now Emmet Road and Tyrconnell Road. The old gatehouse was taken over by the Oblate Fathers in the 1850’s and used as a school.
The last toll road approved by Parliament was in 1829 between Dublin and Blessington, leading to Carlow. The construction of the Grand Canal in 1756 opened new opportunities for trade to extend from Dublin to the Shannon Estuary. The canal was extended to Clondalkin by Thomas Omar by 1763 who ran out of money to purchase lands further afield. Dublin Corporation were seeking a way of supplying the City Basin with water, to supplement the Poddle. However, “Gentlemen and Merchant” investors formed the Grand Canal Company by Order of the Irish Parliament in 1772. Dublin Corporation invested £10,000 in the project in order to have a voice. The company erected turnpikes on tacks adjacent to the waterways and charged for commercial passage at tolls.
The introduction of the Railway to Ireland in the 1840’s saw a dramatic demise in the need for toll roads for commercial business. Merchants and travellers found ways of evading the toll gates. By 1858, parliament had abolished all toll roads across Ireland.
References:
- Old Inchicore and Kilmainham; Commemorative Issue 2021, Maddock A, O’Meara L & Sweeney V.
- Eye on the World Blog; Staff and Students of Maynooth University
- Old Coach Roads From Dublin 1745-1821: JSTOR Vol. 54 No.1 (Spring 2001) pg 4-15, Old Dublin Society, Scudd C