The Classic Irish Buses website

by Shane Conway

Site set up February 2001, and this page last updated on 29th January 2012

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Please note, some of our photo collections are temporarily unavailable due to excessively unreasonable demands made recently by one particular copyright holder. These photos are being removed from the relevant galleries and normal service will be resumed shortly.

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What's new? (all updates for the last three months)

• January 29th: External links section updated
• November 18th: Ulsterbus 1967 to 1972 page updated

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:

• Bus Eireann Volvo and Scania coaches (VP and SI class)
• Coras Iompair Eireann 1945 to 1950
• Coras Iompair Eireann 1951 to 1955
• Coras Iompair Eireann 1956 to 1961
• Coras Iompair Eireann 1962 to 1966
• Coras Iompair Eireann 1967 to 1970
• Coras Iompair Eireann 1971 to 1981
• Coras Iompair Eireann Bombardiers (KC, KD, KE, KR and KW)
• Coras Iompair Eireann R class Titans (171 photos)
• Coras Iompair Eireann RA class Titans (4 photos)
• Coras Iompair Eireann P class Tigers (1 photo)
• Coras Iompair Eireann U class Royal Tigers (1 photo)
• Coras Iompair Eireann CIE Leopards (50 photos)
• The 75th anniversary of the first GNR buses in Drogheda, Co. Louth
• Dublin Bus Leyland and Volvo Olympians fleet history
• Dublin Bus Leyland and Volvo Olympians photo file (41 photos)
• Dublin United Transport
• Great Northern Railway
• Irish Omnibus Company and Great Southern Railway
• Lough Swilly
• Galway in October 2003 and October 2004
• Donegal in 2006

Northern Ireland buses and coaches:

• Belfast Corporation Buses and Trolleybuses
• H M S Catherwood Ltd. of Belfast
• Citybus, Belfast
• Lough Swilly
• Northern Ireland Road Transport Board 1935 to 1939
• Northern Ireland Road Transport Board 1940 to 1948
• Ulster Transport Authority 1948 - 1956
• Ulster Transport Authority 1957 - 1961
• Ulster Transport Authority 1962 - 1966
• Ulsterbus 1967-1972
• Ulsterbus 1973-1976
• Ulsterbus 1977-1982
• Ulsterbus 1983-1988
• Ulsterbus 1989-2010

Chassis list summaries of Irish owned buses and coaches:

• Bristol buses and coaches in Ireland built from 1936 to 1983
• Leyland buses and coaches in Ireland built from 1946 to 1955
• Leyland buses and coaches in Ireland built from 1956 to 1970
• Leyland buses and coaches in Ireland built from 1971 to 1982
• Leyland buses and coaches in Ireland built from 1983 to 1995

Manx buses and coaches:

• Introduction
• Douglas Corporation fleet history
• Douglas Corporation photo file (5 photos)
• Isle of Man Road Services fleet history
• Isle of Man Transport
• Isle of Man visit in 1996

British and overseas buses and coaches:

• Our AEC Routemaster site starts here
• The photo-miscellany pages part 1
• The photo-miscellany pages part 2
• Guide Friday profile
• East Midlands in 1993
• Yorkshire in 1995
• Rome in 1997 and 2007
• West Wales and Cardiff in July 1998
• Manchester in 1999
• The Algarve in August 2004
• Paris (2004-05)
• Fuerteventura in 2005

Classic cars, trucks and vans:

• My Morris Oxford/Austin Cambridge site

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 Irish (mainly) transport websites

General bus interest

• The AEC Society's site for AEC enthusiasts and owners.
• Stephen Lynch's site covers the Bus Eireann scene in Cork
• Bus Lists on the Web – chassis and body lists for enthusiasts.
• Dick Gilbert's Classic Buses site includes a full list of all 600 surviving half cab single deckers.
• Stephen King's site takes a look at Ireland's buses since 1987.
• Kevin Horgan's Irish Bus photos has photo features on various bus operators.
• Tony Murray's Irish buses site has photos from Dublin and Wales
• Paul Kelly’s Northern Ireland bus site has some information and mainly pictures of buses in Ulster.
• Gavin Ward's Photo bus Dublin site covers trams and buses in Ireland's capital.
• More sites are listed on the bus website directory and on The Bus Station

  Photo gallery sites of transport pictures

• Jonathon McDonnell's CIE photos from the early 1980s.
• Darren Hall's Dublin Bus photos
• The JHB Bus Gallery features bus photos from the 1960s.
• Timmy Butler’s site has photographs of present day Buses and Trams in Dublin
• Linda's Bus Photos features present day Irish buses
• Ed O'Neill's site featuring a photo gallery of CIE buses and coaches in the 1970s and 1980s.
• The Fantasy Jack Palance Photos site includes some views of buses in Dublin and Dundrum.
• Leif Spangberg's tram and bus photos site includes UK and Dublin buses and trains in 2000.
• Caroline Mathews’ Mad Annie's website includes buses in Dublin, Manchester, Carlisle and Edinburgh.
• Garry Luck's photo collection of real and imaginary buses
• Fred Dean's photo collection of Irish bus and rail scenes
• Dick Gilbert's photo collection of classic British buses and coaches

  Discussion forums for Irish transport

• The history of Ireland's bus operators on the Garaiste forum
• Present day large Irish operators on the Irish Road Passenger Transport forum
• The independent sector of Irish buses and coaches on the Irish Independent Coach and Bus Operators forum
• Views on past and present Irish railways on the Irish Railway News forum

  Bygone operators and manufacturers

• The history of Henry's Coast Tours of Portstewart, one of the companies taken over by the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board in 1935.
• Graham Hill's site is a tribute to his father Alfred, the chief designer with Park Royal Coachworks.
• The history of Southend Corporation Transport.
• The Tower Bus Company of Clondalkin, Co. Dublin operated between 1924 and 1931.

  Vehicle sites

• The AEC Bus Site covers the various bus and coach models produced by this famous company.
• Mike Elkin's Leyland Leopard website includes a complete list of all known examples built.
• Richard Edge's site is a tribute to the 1980s Leyland Tiger.
• Gerry Tormey's site covering Bristol LS, MW, SC and SU buses and coaches.
• Rob Sly's site is a tribute to Bristol Lodekka, VRT, LH and RE buses and coaches.

  Museum and preservation websites

• How an ex Bristol Omnibus Company Bristol RELL was repatriated from Citybus in Belfast and restored to its original green livery.
• Irish Transport Heritage Ltd; organisers of the well-known bus and coach rally in Ulster since 1972.
• The North Midland Transport Collection features ex UK and Irish buses and coaches.
• The Transport Enthusiasts Club of Ireland preserving the past, in the present, for the future
• The Transport Museum Society has a collection of over 100 commercial vehicles from Ireland's past
• The Ards Bus Preservation Group collection of preserved Ulsterbuses.
• The Greater Manchester Transport Museum site is worth visiting, especially if you're into old north west English buses.

  Operator sites

• Aircoach provide a luxury express coach service from Dublin Airport to Belfast and Cork.
• Barton's Transport is Ireland's premier coach hire company.
• C.I.É. is the parent company of Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann, Irish Rail and CIE Tours
• Citylink operates express coaches from Galway to Dublin and Shannon Airports.
• Dublin Bus's Conyngham Road Garage has its own website
• Dualway Coaches - Dublin city sightseeing, local bus services and private hire
• Halpenny Travel of Blackrock, Co.Louth, established 1920.
• JJ Kavanagh of Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny, commenced in 1919.
• Matthews Coaches of Inniskeen, Co. Monaghan operate the Dundalk to Dublin motorway express.
• Saint Kevin's Bus Service of Roundwood, Co. Wicklow, owned by the Doyle family since 1927.
• Translink is Northern Ireland's main bus and rail provider, including Citybus, Northern Ireland Railways and Ulsterbus
• Tony Doyle Coaches is a family run company offering a professional, friendly coach hire service in North County Wicklow.
• UrBus provide a scheduled service between Castleknock and Swords in north Dublin.

  Vehicle manufacturers and service companies

• Alexander Dennis Ltd. is Britain's leading manufacturer of single and double deck buses.
• Ryanbus supply and build scale model buses and coaches.
• Sparks R Flying specialises in auto electrical and diesel repairs.
• Volvo Buses is the world's second largest bus manufacturer.
• Wrightbus is Northern Ireland's only manufacturer of double deck bus bodies.

  A few non-bus websites

• Ciaran Cooney's photographic record of Irish trains and stations plus a set of links to other Irish railway sites.
• The official website of Judith Durham, lead singer with 60s Aussie folk group "The Seekers".
• Finally, a quick plug for Louth Meath Recycling, my business website

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