Meath railways - what there was and what there still is..

NavanJunction1

Not to scale obviously and missing a few halts and mainline stations but interesting to compare past with present.

Transport21 Fan

What strikes me about the map in that schematic form, is that the Navan-Drogheda lines forms a natural corridor. Although I think the Clonsilla Navan line should be opened (eventually) - I cannot for the life of me understand why the Drogheda-Navan line is not being fast tracked for passenger service ASAP. It would be in any other normal society.

You have more chance of the RPA extending Metro North to Navan than you have CIE running passenger services on the Drogheda-Navan line. Mind you if there is a hotel in Navan for sale, CIE might be interested in that.

Navan I suspect, will never get a passenger rail service - which is tragic as the MeathonTrack campaign pushed your agenda with reality based issues. I admire MoT as you seem to have developed into a proper regional rail lobby and you should be getting what you want.

But I fear that CIE apartments will be built on the site of Navan station before any commuter trains will go there.

dowlingm

T21

where the Navan line enters Drogheda station is a little tricky to put it mildly. It's on a curve which the fun police don't like for platforms and IE claim E100m to upgrade the line for passenger service.

Also, I guess the Drogheda types would fear that if their trains originated in Navan they might be full by the time they reached Drogheda

NavanJunction1

The main platforms in Drogheda are on a curve already, so that shouldn't be an issue.

There would have to be a platform put in place coming in from Navan I would imagine.

People from Drogheda sharing trains is another issue.

It was interesting that P11 reworked the timetable to find 2 additonal slots on the northern line. One of these was subsequently added to Drogheda traffic a few months ago..

Transport21 Fan wrote:

Although I think the Clonsilla Navan line should be opened (eventually) - I cannot for the life of me understand why the Drogheda-Navan line is not being fast tracked for passenger service ASAP. It would be in any other normal society.

I know - very good question.

Transport21 Fan wrote:

You have more chance of the RPA extending Metro North to Navan than you have CIE running passenger services on the Drogheda-Navan line.

I know there are issues around it but at one point I thought that Metro North might a project that could be extended to Ashbourne from Swords at some point (reputedly Ireland's fastest growing town), but I guess the plan doesn't accomadate that.

dowlingm

navanj

my understanding would be that operational platforms are grandfathered (like Cork Kent) but new ones are a no-no. If MarkoP11 pops in this thread he will probably have the current info.

NavanJunction1

I understand but an oul' slip of a platform in Drogheda shouldn't prevent commuter rail services on Navan-Drogheda..:)

Transport21 Fan

There is absolutely no reason why platforms cannot be located at the junction of the Navan and Northern lines at Drogheda. There is plenty of room. The platforms can be extended onto that road bridge (ala Charlemont on the Green Line if need be). In terms of integration it would be fine.

If we are living in a country were tiny villages in Clare, Mayo and East Galway are getting "commuter" rail services by 2012, then surely we can upgrade a exsisting and operational line to our largest inland town were the vast major of the population are communters unlike Claremorris, Kiltmagh, Milltown, Ballguluin and so forth.

I refuse to believe this is not possible - I also beleive that there is an agenda to try and suppress the potential of the Drogheda-Navan line and the whole Clonsilla Siding is a huge smokescreen.

There is some other agenda at work here outside the domain of public transport planning. There has to be. This is the one line in the country which is begging to opened to passenger services with a willing and ready customer base of tens of thousands and the government is dilly-dallying on the issue but has no problem bringing commuter services to the 150 souls of Ballygluin.

Something about this really stinks.

Hobart

T21

While I don't disagrre with your sentiments, I would be interested to hear what format this agenda takes, as you see it? I live in the area, and we have elected everything from local councillers(sp) to TD's on the strenght of this being delievered.

The only reason for an agenda, as far as I can see, is the obvious bias for FG and a little PD bias, in the areas which will benefit most from this. Is this what you think is going on?

Transport21 Fan

Hobart, in terms of sheer viability and knowing a fair bit about transport planning, I can tell you that both the Drogheda-Navan and Clonsilla-Navan lines can be opened and provide a value transport framework for the region.

Everything required for both lines to be viable is there and ready to go. There is no "build it and they will come" dynamic surrounding this issue. They have already arrived in their tens of thousands and they are begging for rail services to Navan and other parts of Meath and Fingal without rail services.

Considering the demand, potential, real feeling on the ground in Navan and Meath in general, I find is fairly astounding that getting a rail service to Navan is still nothing more than a distant aspiration and not a real agenda.

CIE it would appear have psychologically exited from public transport, so one could come only come to the conclusion that CIE wants the sites around Drogheda and Navan yards for future property development. They sell the sites, not their problem anymore and they walk away with the cash. A commuter rail service to Navan means that CIE managers have to work and spend money on the idea.

The politicians may want this for Navan and this is sincere. However, it is becoming more and more reasonable to assume (especially since the Docklands station fiasco) that CIE management is an animal out of control and addictied to property development at the expense public transport.

One must suspect this is were all the delay and negativity on Navan rail services is coming from. The value of the land connected to any potential rail service to Navan is the only asset CIE management are concerned with - not the revenue and business from Navan rail commuters?

Look at it this way. CIE hypothically can sell off the Navan railway property and collect a fortune and walk away form it and never have to deal with again. The books look good at the end of the year and CIE look less of the financial basket case it is. On the other hand if they have to provide a rail service to Navan - the books at CIE in the annual reports do not look as healthy and the CIE managers not as competent to the DoF as they wish to be seen.

It has come down to the fact that CIE in terms of public transport provision has completely lost the plot. The financial health of that semi-state company is all that matters. If this is achieved via hotels, shopping centres, apartments, blue rinse American tourists on bus tours, or public transport even, it matters not how the financially healthy end result was arrived at.

This agenda of making CIE appear as a financially healthy company superceeds its remit to provide public transport - rail and bus services is now just a CIE nixer and one which the management of CIE would prefer to avoid if they can. It's the bottom line at the end of the financial year and not commuter trains to Navan which is the CIE boardroom agenda. The unions at CIE have no issue with this, as they are vested interest and once their nest is well feathered then they are not bothered.

I suspect that CIE property speculation is the main reason why Navan may never have a rail service from either Clonsilla or Drogheda. Look at the Docklands station, the destruction of railfreight and you tell me that CIE is a company who is listening to any polticians. They are now a maverick organisation who beleive it can do what it wants and they are getting away with it.

The politians are the ones putting their jobs on the line, but CIE managers do not have to run for election and can do what the hell they want with Navan.

Meath-on-Track are correct to point out how long it took to get rails to Navan with picks and shovels. It's just a basic truism which really brings home how fantastically weird this whole Navan rail debate is. There is nothing to debate or "scope" as everything and everybody is ready to go and behind the idea and yet look at the carry on.

How does "Great Northern Heights" sound as a name for the luxury developments at Navan station then?

NavanJunction1

Hobart wrote:

The only reason for an agenda, as far as I can see, is the obvious bias for FG and a little PD bias, in the areas which will benefit most from this. Is this what you think is going on?

Well here's a breakdown of candidates for the coming election.

Sirena Campbell (PD) and Shane McEntee (FG) are Meath East (close to Duleek on the line).

In Navan you have Damien English (FG) and Joe Reilly (SF) - Meath West.

All of the FF candidates are in the 'corners' of Meath so to speak.

Johnny Brady in Kells, Noel Dempsey in Trim, Mary Wallace Ratoath and the new chap near Drogheda.

Aside from that you'll have Dominic Hannigan (Lab) in Ashbourne, Brian Collins (Lab and a bus commuter to Dublin) in Kells and Brian Flanagan (Greens) in Meath West, and (I think) Fergal O'Byrne (Greens) in Meath East.

But back to conspiracy theories.

The duration of the tolling arrangements on the M3 has increased to 35 years from 30 last time I checked. Not sure what it is now but there was talk of increases to 40 years.

The Dunboyne rail extension (Navan Phase 1) convieniently finished just after the 2nd M3 toll and as such will not undermine the tolling arrangements.

Which is great for people from Dunshaughlin Navan Kells etc that will have to pay tolls, parking charges and their train tickets to use it.

Check out this link

Keeping Navan Drogheda closed to commuter traffic is daft, and there are definite grounds for conspiracy theories.

Just look how the M3 plans ignored bridging the Navan-Clonsilla allignment just south of Navan at Cannistown - it was an An Bord Pleanála ruling that saved the day there!

That omission could have added E70m to the cost of reopening the line.

And then of course you have the famous Skane Valley Sewerage Scheme

And just to give you a laugh, at the last election a row broke out amongst the politicians as to where the New Navan station would be for the reopened Clonsilla line.

In the end it was announced that Navan wouldn't have one station. Not even 2! Navan was to have 3 stations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And of course the election passed, a report was commisioned and Navan was moth-balled along with the 3 new stations that were promised.

Transport21 Fan

The saga surrounding getting a rail service to Navan really is in many ways a microcosm of everything wrong with this country. You have it all really.

Three stations for Navan an not one built. Meanwhile in rural County Mayo...

John R

NavanJunction1 wrote:

The main platforms in Drogheda are on a curve already, so that shouldn't be an issue.

That doesn't matter, in-use facilities are allowed stay but any new builds MUST satisfy all the requirements of the safety nazis and the disability discrimination nazis. This is the main reason there is no such thing as a cheap station re-opening.

It also means "build it and they will come" is not an option, the infrastructure costs are too high to risk on a potential financial disaster. At least one without the political pressure of the WRC where a certain financial disaster is being forced through no matter what.

Navan-Drogheda has a limited potential IMO, the journey times to Dublin are too high to make it a big pull for car users and from experience elsewhere local traffic on the branch would not be great either.

If it could be done on the cheap it would be a worthwhile project as a stop-gap but realistically the direct line to Navan should be the priority, if the Drogheda route was done and it failed to meet expectations it would be a serious blow for the direct link.

The upcoming election needs to be used to put serious pressure on all parties to commit to the direct line, it is a project that should have been included as a certainty in T21 but is in danger of being long-fingred into the distance instead.

John R

Transport21 Fan wrote:

The saga surrounding getting a rail service to Navan really is in many ways a microcosm of everything wrong with this country. You have it all really.

Three stations for Navan an not one built. Meanwhile in rural County Mayo...

Parish-pump politics. We can all moan about it but how many otherwise reasonable people do we all know that vote for politicians because "they are great fellas down the local GAA", etc.

Greater good is an irrelevance in Irish politics and it is as much the fault of the electorate as it is the politicians.

Every time I hear the "they're all as bad as each other" line I want to punch someone, it is the most lazy, stupid and ignorant excuse for not giving a fcuk. Even if it were true it is no reason to keep voting the same people in, a useless corrupt politician that has not screwed things up for the previous 5 years at least deserves the benefit of the doubt over the one who has screwed things up.

MarkoP11

There is clearly a link between the M3 and the lack of a railway line. Iarnrod Eireann did actually look at a Park and Ride site at Drumree which is about 5 minutes drive west of Dunshaughlin and is next to the M3 and well before the Blackbull/Pace toll but it was rejected on cost grounds

If a decent rail service is provided people will ditch there cars as it would be cheaper and faster by rail. Now clearly if you can go from Navan to Tara Street in 52 minutes by train and you can do that journey for roughly 7 euro a day (if you have an annual ticket and thats without the discount from tax relief. Its a 60 mile round trip in traffic and your car does how many mpg ? and petrol is 1:10 upwards now add in a toll at say 2 euro each way not forgetting parking, tax, insurance, maintenance and the train is seriously cheap even if there is more than one person in the car

M3 toll operator would be in serious trouble

I've been told I should go to the land registry and compare both M3 routes

I drove Meath CC round the bend with there pipe they laid on the alignment, I can prove that a public official knowingly lied and mislead at a public meeting in Navan in February. I have it in writting

This was said
"I'm sick of hearing about some supposed sewer pipe on the Navan rail alignment"

But the letter I got back

3. The construction of the sewer line did involve measures so as not to compromise the re-instatement of the rail-line on its original alignment, apart from a short section (approx. 100m) at Dunsany Bridge. The pipeline inclusive of manholes is constructed on the side of the former alignment.... Any modification to the access to the manholes and in particular the ones in the vicinity of Dunsany Bridge can be easily engineered to satisfy future requirements of the Rail Authority as part of the detailed design of the rail-line and necessary railway order.

The local politcans (I've met some of them) have no clue and have all kinds of wild dreams. Some of them even oppose levies to raise the cash. Remember it was the local councillors who approved that sewer pipe and Martin Cullen as minister who signed off on it

NavanJunction1

Transport21 Fan wrote:

Three stations for Navan an not one built.

I was waiting for you ask did Navan get 3 new hotels instead..!

Transport21 Fan

John R wrote:

Parish-pump politics. We can all moan about it but how many otherwise reasonable people do we all know that vote for politicians because "they are great fellas down the local GAA", etc.

Very true, but some regions are worst than others were the locals live on an island of 32 little republic based on GAA colours and being Irish means nothing to them.

But at the same token the polticans who represent these anti-citizens, get everything they want in the Dail.

Maybe people in places such as Navan should renounce their Irish citizenship, declare themselves Meath GAA citizens and then they'll get what they want.

Worked for Mayo.

NavanJunction1

What is really needed is some form of Transport Authority for the greater Dublin area........

NavanJunction1

Sat, Mar 02, 2002 Meath Chronicle

A MAJOR blueprint for the future of Navan over the next 20 years proposes the provision of three railway stations in the town, with further retail developments around the site of the town’s old station.



The Land Use and Transportation Study (LUTS) for Navan, carried out by SIAS Consultants, proposes the reintroduction of a heavy rail service from Dublin to Navan and the provision of three railway stations serving the town, which is projected to have a 60,000 population by 2015.

While a rail link to Navan is not in the government’s National Development Plan, a spokesperson for Environment Minister Noel Dempsey affirmed the government had plans for the extension of a rail link to the town.

Details of the LUTS study were outlined last week to members of Meath Co. Council and Navan Town Council, who heard the proposals for the three new rail stations serving different area of the town.

These include a central station at the present railway station. The study suggests that there could be further retail development in this area, linking it with the existing town centre.

A second station could be located to the south of the town on the proposed new road, which will link the existing N3 at the Ardboyne Hotel to the Trim Road. There are proposals for a local retail centre surrounding that station.

The proposals also look at the provision of a third railway station close to Tara Mines and a new motorway near the Athboy Road. It suggests that park and ride facilities be provided at the two outer stations and a new bridge across the Blackwater should be provided to link the northern end of the town with the station near the Athboy Road.

The LUTS study also envisages that with the development of the new N3 motorway and bypass of Navan, parts of the inner relief road could, over time, become a new shopping street.

The blueprint also proposes the provision of a major park on the banks of the Blackwater spanning both sides of the river and linked by a pedestrian bridge. Land for this purpose has already been secured (see story below).

The consultants point out that the acquisition of land would not be considerable for the rail proposals. Other advantages would include an increase in the direct catchment area of the proposed rail line and an increase in the possibility for interchanging with buses and park and ride facilities.

The consultants point out that the proposals are consistent with the Dublin Transportation Office’s ‘Platform for change’ programme and with the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area.

The study involved negotiations with a long list of local organisations, including An Taisce, Tara Mines, Navan Chamber of Commerce, the GAA, various local businesses and members of the public.

dermo88

What truly scares me is if its taking so long to get the Midletonline rebuilt, then how long is it going to take Navan to get its railway.

I'll give you all one example. Luas. Tallaght promised a DART link in 1984. In the 1987 election, it is stated "we'll start construction in 1988". In the early 90's the Tallaght DART line is downgraded to Light Rail, not heavy rail status.

Ballymun and the Northside promised Luas. In 1994.

They then get told that there is "not enough money", or some pathetic excuse.

All the politicians, counsellors and establishment are doing is promising, and then putting it on the long finger.

How dare they say it should be built from "development levies". The people of Meath have already paid VAT on the construction of the houses that are already there. They have already paid road tax, car tax, income tax. They continue to pay VAT and excise duty on fuel.

This line can be built in three years and less with modern technology, if only they would just pull the finger out. I mean, how hard can it be.

We can go cheapskate in the short term, and build it as Double track from Clonsilla to Dunboyne, and single track, Dunboyne to Navan with crossing loops.

But at the moment, the talk seems to be of bells and whistles, Double track, fully electrified, etc. Which is needed, but the cheapskate option which I outline above would be good just to get it up and running in the first place, and thats for the direct route.

They are quick enough off the mark when they want to build roads, thats for sure.

NavanJunction1

dermo88 wrote:

how long is it going to take Navan to get its railway.

Have a look at this article from 2001..

Mr. Dempsey added: “Deputy Bruton knows that this Fianna Fail-led government, at my instigation, ensured that the rail link to Navan was included in the DTO strategy ‘A Platform For Change’.”

Nine More Years Before Rail Comes To Navan
Meath Chronicle, Sat, Jul 14 01

THE scheduled date for provision of the Navan-Dublin rail link is 2010, Environment and Local Government Minister Noel Dempsey has said, as Fine Gael TD John Bruton criticised the government’s environmental record, in particular its approach to the greenhouse gas emissions crisis.

Mr. Bruton said Ireland must make a “substantial move from car to bus/rail commuting” in order to honour its solemn EU commitments on greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Accord.

It would be a “disgrace” if, as the Minister had admitted, present trends tending towards a 24% above the commitments level in 2010 continued. “A rail link to Navan is an urgent environmental and financial necessity,” he stressed.

The FG TD asked Public Enterprise Minister Mary 0’Rourke in the Dail for a detailed report on the rail link.

Mrs. 0’Rourke responded that completion in 2006 of the first phase, a spur from Clonsilla to Dunboyne, was envisaged. The expected date for completion of phase two, the Navan link, was 2010.

However, Mr. Bruton repeated his claim that “there is no money in the NDP for the Navan rail link”.

The Environment and Local Government Minister welcomed the FG TD’s interest in the issue “since he left the office of Taoiseach”. It would have been even more useful if he had shown the same interest when he was in office, said Mr. Dempsey.

Mr. Dempsey added: “Deputy Bruton knows that this Fianna Fail-led government, at my instigation, ensured that the rail link to Navan was included in the DTO strategy ‘A Platform For Change’.”

He outlined the plan to provide it in two stages. Details for the route, number of stations and costs were a matter for the relevant authorities. “I am sure that these authorities will pick the optimum route consistent with providing the fastest, most efficient service which will make it attractive for consumers to leave their cars and use the rail link,” he said.

MarkoP11

Put simply as it stands today there aren't enough people within the catchment area of the Navan rail line to make it even close to providing a return

The development levy is going to hit the developer not the buyer. House prices as most will know bear no resemblance of what the construction cost of the house is, its got a lot more to do with how much the market will bear so the levy if applied won't have a material effect, but noting that house prices increase the closer you are to high quailty public transport

As such the levy is a tax on the developer who have been making significant profits in the buoyant property market. It also allows the council (if they get there act together) to control development be refusing permission where the developer won't pay

People seem to forget that the legal process to build a railway line is very very complex and requires the production of thousands of pages of material. Once the plans are ready there then is the statutory railway works order procedure which has embedded into it time for viewing plans, making submissions etc building it is quite simple getting the legal sorted first is hard. In time terms single or double track it doesn't matter really.

The big hold up in Meath is Meath CC who continue to doss around. Currently a 6 figure sum of tax payers money is about to be wasted. Meath CC claim they need a survey of the line before they can put forward plans to reopen it. Strangely I have a copy of this survey done in the late 1990's. Its 25 pages long and has 29 photos including one of the hidden Boyne Viaduct. Bar 3 issues everything is there, 2 of those issues have been addressed in the revised M3 plans and Meath CC put there hands up to the sewer pipe.

NavanJunction1

MarkoP11 wrote:

Put simply as it stands today there aren't enough people within the catchment area of the Navan rail line to make it even close to providing a return.

Meath Chronicle, Sat, Apr 29 06

LAST Sunday was census night, which is projected to show Meath’s population exceeding 170,000 when preliminary results are published later this year.

The scale of the increase looks likely to top the 22.1 per cent rise recorded in 2002, when the county had 134,005 people. Forms will be collected nationwide over the coming three weeks.

Meath showed the fastest-growing town, Ratoath, jumping by 82 per cent to 5,581, and the fastest-growing large town, Navan, jumping to 21,065, up 53.6 per cent, in the 2002 census.

The continuing house-building boom across the county, however, has convinced planners that populations are rising still faster. Predictions of the population reaching 170,000 by 2010 were made some years ago. Even this seems likely to be exceeded.

The result may be that the county achieves over 180,000 within the coming two years, exceeding the 1841 (pre-Famine) census record.

There were many doubts a decade ago when Taoiseach John Bruton suggested that Meath could have a population of 200,000 by 2020. That prediction in Kells now looks certain to happen even earlier.

The rise in population remains heavily concentrated in the south and east of the county and in the Navan-Kells-Trim nexus, as set out by the Greater Dublin Area major plan. But planning regulations have also spurred a major boost for many villages, notably in the north. This in turn has brought major infra-structural headaches for developers and planners, particularly in the Kells-Oldcastle area.

The rising population remains strongly driven by Dublin service employment, pushing the growing demand for the M3 and rail link to Dunboyne and Navan. Industrial employment in the county has suffered in recent years, through such losses as Navan Carpets, the winding down of its furniture industry, NEC in Ballivor and CTM in Kells.

The latter town has partly bucked the trend, with employment expanding at its Loyd Business Park.

The IDA’s Navan Business Park has yet to deliver on its high hopes for major overseas investment. A strong demand for local employment from commuters has been repeatedly identified in Co. Council surveys.

This year’s census comes just four years after the last, the 2002 count being delayed a year owing to the foot and mouth outbreak. It will be closely examined by planners, politicians and marketing analysts.

The county will be expected to return a substantially higher number of foreign nationals (slightly under two per cent in 2002), with the new EU members most prominent. Polish and Lithuanian immigrants already represent almost a quarter of new arrivals nationally.

Other statistics which will be closely scrutinised will be the ever-rising educational standards of the Meath workforce, the 40.8 per cent aged over three who claimed to be able to speak Irish and the number of those identifying themselves as Travellers (at 710 in 2002, of whom 480 lived in Navan).

One Meath curiosity from the 2002 census was the surpassing of the Church of Ireland by the group now classified second largest, under religion. That group is those of no religion.

The complete results will take nearly two years to release.

Transport21 Fan

MarkoP11 wrote:

Put simply as it stands today there aren't enough people within the catchment area of the Navan rail line to make it even close to providing a return

Aren't you the same bloke who claimed the Dublin Metro gauge was illegal and would never be built?

NavanJunction1

Meath Chronicle, Sat, 29th 04 2006

A NAVAN RAIL campaign group has called on Iarnród Éireann to bring forward the delivery date of the direct Navan-Dublin rail link to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the line's opening in 1862.

The 150th anniversary of the inaugural train journey on the old Dublin & Meath railway in 2012 offers a realistic date for the line to be linked back to the national rail network, according to Meath on Track.

"The Transport 21 announcement that the government's intention to reopen the Navan rail link still stands was very welcome news to the commuters of Meath," according to a Meath on Track spokesperson.

"But the delivery date of 2015 is unnecessarily excessive as rail accessibility is needed in place immediately to cope with rapid population growth in the county. The Navan Dublin rail link offers a 42 to 49 minute journey time depending on stops from Navan to Dublin city centre."

The group points out that the Navan-Dublin railway line was originally built in less than 3 years in 1859, using picks and shovels, and that much of the route is still intact.

Recent announcements that 34 miles of railway to Athenry in Galway will be reopened by 2008 means that projects such as the Navan-Dublin rail link can be reinstated by Iarnród Éireann in much quicker timescales than they were previously willing to commit to.

According to the Meath on Track spokesperson, Iarnród Éireann could re-open the Navan-Dublin rail link even earlier than 2012 if the project was given priority.

"A century and a half ago, work commenced on the line in October 1859. Less than 3 years later on August 29th 1862, passenger trains were rolling into Navan directly from Dublin and serving the transport needs of the people of Meath. Reopening the Dublin & Meath railway for the 150th anniversary in 2012 is eminently achievable."

He added: "Meath is set for massive population growth in the next decade. Navan is soon to achieve city status, and fast-tracking of line would make a massive difference to the commuters of Meath. A forty-two minute journey time to Dublin's city centre would provide relief for those that have to spend up to 2.5 hours a day in their cars at present."

Meath on Track is seeking a reintroduction of the Dublin to Navan & Kells railway line, as well as development of the Navan Drogheda rail link.

NavanJunction1

Transport21 Fan wrote:

Aren't you the same bloke who claimed the Dublin Metro gauge was illegal and would never be built?

Ah, sure we all get it wrong at times - sure I thought I'd be getting a train to work by 2010 a few years ago.........:rolleyes:

In fairness to Mark, I've gotten great info from him along the way (most recently a couple of days ago) and it has yet to be incorrect.

I on the on the other hand am regularly wrong, though I reckon I'm right about the interconnector being an election stunt. And I also reckon there are more people in Meath than is thought