Details of the Railway Fatal Accident

Location	Armagh, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Date	Wednesday, 12th June 1889
Railway Company	Great Northern Railway of Ireland
No. of fatalities	78
Cause of Accident	Insufficient brakes (no automatic brake) to prevent run back of divided train
Description	Excursion train was heavily loaded with mostly schoolchildren and so unable to climb steep bank. Driver elected to divide train. Rear portion ran back and collided with following train. 22 of the victims were school children.

Sources/Further Reading

• https://www.lurganancestry.com/armaghraildisaster1889.htm#:~:text=All%20in%20all%20eighty%20people,been%20as%20high%20as%20400.
• Red for Danger, L.T.C. Rolt (Sutton Publishing 1955)
• The Runaway Train, Armagh 1889. Currie J R L. (David & Charles, 1971)