Overview
For 67 years, the Irish rail network ran out at Reenard Point and simply stopped. Valentia Harbour was the most westerly railway terminus in Europe – the literal end of the line for the whole continent – opened on 12 September 1893 and closed on 1 February 1960. The tracks are long gone, but the stone platform and a small goods shed still stand on the headland, looking across the water to Valentia Island.
Why the line came here
The railway did not reach this corner for the views. The Great Southern and Western Railway pushed the line out from Farranfore partly to serve the transatlantic telegraph cable station on Valentia Island – the first lasting cable came ashore in 1866 and needed a fast link to Dublin and London – and partly to carry slate from the island’s quarry. Mail, passengers and the day’s fish went the other way.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Station opened | 12 September 1893 |
| Last passenger train | 30 January 1960 |
| Official closure | 1 February 1960 |
What’s left to see
The remains are free to visit and open all the time. The stone platform edge is still clear, and the small goods shed survives beside it; interpretive panels fill in the history. It is an exposed, quiet spot, with the open Atlantic on one side and the sheltered harbour on the other – good at low sun, less so in a westerly gale. There are no facilities on site, but the Renard Point Smokehouse, a short walk away, has toilets and a café.
The greenway is not finished yet
The old trackbed is being turned into the South Kerry Greenway, a traffic-free walking and cycling route along the coast toward Cahersiveen, Glenbeigh and Killorglin. It is not open end to end: the first section, near Kells, is due to open officially in 2026, so do not arrive expecting to cycle the whole line. Where it does open, it follows the same coast the trains did, past old bridges and viaducts.
At the Killorglin end, Ballykissane Pier carries a memorial to five Volunteers who drowned there on the eve of the 1916 Rising – a worthwhile detour if you are walking that stretch.
Getting to the island
Reenard Point sits directly across the water from Valentia Island, and the car ferry to Knightstown runs from here, a crossing of about five minutes. It operates April to October only; in July and August the last sailing back from Reenard is at 22:00. Out of season the ferry does not run, and the island is reached instead by the bridge at Portmagee. On the island, the Valentia Island Heritage Centre tells the cable story, a memorial on Foilhommerum Cliff marks where the 1866 cable came ashore, and Cromwell Point Lighthouse sits on a 17th-century fort at the western tip.
Practical information
- Getting there: the station and ferry slip are a short drive from Cahersiveen out to Reenard Point. Parking is free but limited, right beside the old station; in high summer it fills early.
- Nearest trains and buses: the nearest station with regular services is Killarney, about an hour and a quarter by road. Bus Éireann’s 279A runs Killarney–Cahersiveen year-round, and Local Link Kerry’s 287A connects Cahersiveen with Valentia Island.
- Facilities: none on site; toilets and a café at the Renard Point Smokehouse nearby.
- Access: the platform is uneven stone and awkward for wheelchairs.
If you are crossing to the island, time your visit to the ferry – April to October, with a last boat at 10pm in high summer. Outside those months there is still the platform, the shed and the view, and usually no one else on the headland.