The town that built and maintained the railway.
Dundalk became a major centre of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland, formed in 1876. From its hub here, the company served routes to Dublin, Belfast, Derry and Enniskillen. Its engineering works tied skilled employment and family life to the railway.
The cross-border archives trace the pressures of partition and competing transport, the first Enterprise express in 1947 and the company’s eventual division in 1958. Across three festival years, Chula Mente, Omin and Mack Signs return to that shared inheritance. Mack Signs’ blueprint-inspired work focuses on locomotive No. 172, Slieve Donard, while the other works offer complementary visual tributes.
The full story of Dundalk’s Railway Learn moreLearn more about the subject 3
- History of the Great Northern Railway Louth County Archives & Newry and Mourne Museum
- Rail: Dundalk’s engineering works Louth County Council
- Railway Heritage · Mack Signs EPSO
Historical context and editorial interpretation are distinguished above. Sources researched October 2026.
The story across the years.
Other artists’ interpretations of this subject in the festival collection.
2020Railway HeritageChula Mente · On the streets
2021Railway HeritageOmin · On the streetsThe story behind the wall.
This mural is a salute to the Great Northern Railway works - between 1887 and 1939 47 engines were built right here in Dundalk and employed over 1200 people.
This mural depicts the actual blueprint used in the construction of steam engine “GNR Slieve Donard 172”.
In 1938/1939 a series of steam engines were built, all called after mountains:
Slieve Donard
Slieve Gullion (still running)
Errigal
Galteemore
And Carantoohill
Meet Mack Signs.
View artist profile & all their workMack Signs is a traditional signwriting and mural painting business based in north Co. Dublin, led by Cormac Dillon. They work throughout the country painting traditional shopfronts, gilding with genuine gold leaf on glass and painting large scale lettering based murals.
Their style is varied from using clean modern design principles to decorative letter styles embellishing them with shading and shadows and colours. Cormac has a strong passion for the artform and will always go above and beyond to create outstanding work.
