You are looking at a stately, two-story building constructed of solid grey stone blocks, featuring three prominent arched doorways at its center with a small, circular clock face set right above the middle arch. Welcome to Limerick Colbert, or as the locals call it, Colbert Station.
This place has been the main hub for transit in County Limerick since the twenty-eighth of August, eighteen fifty-eight. It actually replaced an older, temporary station just down the road. The original railway line was laid during the eighteen forties, right at the height of the Great Famine. The construction caused extreme financial difficulties for the railway company, but they pushed through to connect Limerick to the rest of Ireland.
For over a century, it was simply known as Limerick Station. It was not until nineteen sixty-six that it got its current name. It was rebranded to honor Cornelius Colbert, a rebel leader who was executed following the Easter Rising, an armed rebellion launched in nineteen sixteen against British rule.
On a lighter note, if you were a fan of Irish boy bands, you might recognize this spot. Parts of the music video for the Westlife song My Love were filmed right here. Today, it is quite a bit busier than a music video set. The station handles about two thousand five hundred rail passengers every single day, while the adjacent national bus terminal moves around one million people a year.
That immense volume of travelers is exactly why the station recently went through a sixteen million, eight hundred thousand euro redevelopment. If you pull up the gallery on your screen, you can see the beautifully refurbished interior, complete with upgraded flooring and modern retail units. The upgrades have been ongoing for years. In two thousand twenty-four, they opened a brand new bus terminal with twenty bays, connecting it directly to the railway concourse. The old bus station is currently being turned into a huge car park with space for over two hundred and sixty bicycles. They also completely overhauled the train platforms out back, straightening and lengthening them to comply with modern safety standards.
From its origins in the mid nineteenth century to its modern digital screens, Colbert Station has witnessed millions of hellos and goodbyes. Take your time looking around. When you are ready, we can head to the next stop.
