The Classic Irish Buses website

by Shane Conway

Site set up February 2001, and this page last updated on 19th June 2013

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Some years ago I was sent a photo and some information from a former bus conductor, Ben Sadler. During May 2013 the chance arose to re-create the photo at the same place as the original of 1966. My thanks to Gary Manahan, the owner of R788, and also to Des Willis, the driver, who agreed to take Ben's place in the newer photo.

Opposite Raheny Church in 1966 Ben is seen in front of Leyland OPD2 R726, at the then terminus of route 29.......

.........and 47 years later preserved R788 is posed at the same location, with Des taking on the conductor's role. Photo copyright Kevin Horgan.

Welcome to my website, the online home of classic Irish buses and coaches. I'm Shane Conway and my original attempts at setting up this site was to initially record the passing of the last Dublin Bus Bombardier KD class deckers in January 2001. My interest in the topic of this website began with the wonderful (and much missed) CIE bodied Leyland Titans allocated to Clontarf garage on the north side of Dublin Bay in the mid 1960s, mainly those working on routes 31 and 32, which passed within a quarter mile of my then front door.

This site is intended to be as definitive a history as possible of some of the various bus and coach fleets which have graced the roads of Ireland in the past. From the 1920s buses which started the replacement of Dublin's trams, up to the recent Volvo Olympians of Dublin Bus, and all the thousands of buses in between, including those of Ulsterbus and their predecessors, Lough Swilly, Belfast Corporation and the various versions of Leylands operated by CIE all over Ireland over many decades, all have their place on this site, in the form of detailed fleet histories. Complementing these pages are chassis lists of Bristols and postwar Leylands in Ireland, some "light reading" travelogue pages of some of the places I've visited since the 1980s, a look at Guide Friday, a few photo collections, and also a couple of miscellaneous pages where some of our correspondent's pictures can be found. There are also sister sites covering London's Routemasters, the Isle of Man, and the 1960s Farina styled Morris Oxford and Austin Cambridge cars.

So, welcome aboard, I hope you will find something of interest as we journey down memory lane and recall Irish and Manx buses of yesteryear. If you like the site, tell others, if there's a mistake, tell me!!! Updates and corrections to the text, additional photo contributions and info on links to any other Irish transport websites are always welcome, even though it may take me a while to actually get round to using them.

Quick links guide to this site

Republic of Ireland buses and coaches:

Northern Ireland buses and coaches:

Chassis list summaries of Irish owned buses and coaches:

Manx buses and coaches:

British and overseas buses and coaches:

Classic cars, trucks and vans:

Thanks to the following people for their contributions:

Dick Gilbert, without whose help this website would not exist.

The various photographers who's work is scattered around this site.

Richard Davis for additional notes on the fate of some Manx buses.

Patrizio Castelli for additional information on buses in Rome

Please note that ALL photos (especially those by other photographers) on this site are strictly copyright, and that the material is considered suitable for viewing by all ages. While every effort has been made to ensure the information listed on the various pages is as correct or accurate as possible, updates or corrections to any mistakes are welcome.

Other (mainly) Irish transport websites

General bus interest

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