Overview
Dromod is a village of about 750 people on the Shannon between Lough Bofin and Lough Boderg, and the reason most visitors stop is the Cavan & Leitrim Railway museum on the old railway yard. It is run entirely by volunteers, and it is not the rail-only collection the name suggests: alongside the narrow-gauge locomotives you’ll find Irish Air Corps aircraft with cockpits you can climb into, vintage buses, trucks and cars, and WW1 and WW2 artillery. Reckon on 45 minutes to an hour for the guided tour and the short narrow-gauge train ride.
The name Dromad means ‘long ridge’, or ‘back of the wood’. The village’s working past is older than the railway: an iron works operated here from around 1693 into the 1790s, using a finery forge to turn out malleable iron, and seven annual fairs were held in Dromod through the 19th and into the 20th century.
Railway heritage
A 3ft narrow-gauge line opened through Dromod on 17 October 1887, linking the Arigna coalfields with the main Dublin–Sligo railway, and ran until it closed on 1 April 1959. The heritage operation that became the present museum started in 1992, beside the station, on the old yard.
The volunteers have preserved locomotives, rolling stock and period equipment, and on operating days they run a short trip along a restored section of narrow-gauge track. The transport collection has grown well beyond the railway since – the aircraft, buses and military exhibits are the surprise of the place. It forms part of the wider Cavan & Leitrim Railway heritage network. One thing to plan around: the museum opens Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from April to September only, so a midweek or winter visit will find the gates shut. Check the website before you travel.
Dromod still has a working mainline station too, on the Dublin–Sligo line. It opened on 3 December 1862 and remains in use, a short walk from the harbour.
Harbour and river life
The harbour has been in use for over 150 years, handling barges that carried Guinness, turf and medical supplies up and down the Shannon. The heavy cargo is long gone, but the quay is still the focus of village life. Anglers fish the water for trout and pike, and the calm stretches near the village suit canoeists and kayakers. Loughs Bofin and Boderg, which the village sits between, are wildfowl sanctuaries.
Walking and local character
The ground around the harbour and museum is flat and easy, good for stretching the legs after the museum or a meal in one of the village pubs. In the centre stands The Weeping Tree, a sculpture carved from bog oak – timber preserved in the peat bogs for millennia before being lifted and worked. For a proper walk, head 3.5 km north to Derrycarne Wood, where there are popular trails through mature woodland along the river.
The N4 Dromod–Roosky bypass opened in December 2007 and took the through-traffic out of the village, so the streets stay quiet. There is free parking near the museum and harbour.
Practical information
- Getting there: Dromod is on the N4 between Dublin and Sligo, and is served by trains on the Dublin Connolly to Sligo line, with the station a short walk from the harbour.
- Parking: Free parking near the railway museum and harbour.
- Museum: Volunteer-run; open Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, April to September. Allow 45–60 minutes.
- Accessibility: The harbourside is level and suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. For the museum, which mixes indoor and yard exhibits, contact ahead if you have mobility requirements.
Explore further
Dromod is a handy base for the wider County Leitrim waterways. A short drive south brings you to Carrick on Shannon, the county’s busiest river town, with a promenade and watersports. The medieval ruins of Creevelea Abbey stand near Dromahair, west of the River Bonet, about three-quarters of an hour away, and north of that the limestone scenery of Glencar Waterfall and the Devil’s Chimney is worth the run. The village’s place on the Shannon Blueway Trail also makes it a starting point for longer journeys by water.