Manulla Junction
A platform in a field
A transfer point for passengers
Here the train will yield
But only for a moment
Step down then off again
To Castlebar and Westport town
Here comes the Dublin train
And those left on the platform
Will cross a step or two
And join the local carriage
And Ballina will do
Then all is quiet once again
Manulla falls asleep
Its duty done the hours have run
And many a one did weep
Here departing people
Said goodbye to home
Stood on this bare platform
Soon they’d cross the foam
But Manulla stood and waited
One day they’ll return
My mammy came and stayed for good
Westport became her home
The Railway Tavern closed its doors
The platform entrance too
But a grandson came to open up
His dreams for me and you
The old place is refurbished now
It stands beside the line
I wish them well a hallowed spot
From out the mists of time
Brian Fahy
6 April 2022
+ My sister, Tricia, married a man from Roslahan, not far from Manulla, fifty years ago this August. That summer we all went to a local pub, John Tom Clark’s. It had a dance licence but only two couples at a time could take to the floor. The world’s a small place!
Erris Poetry 