DEATHS, INJURY AND ESCAPE
The runaway carriages had gathered speed rapidly for the 1 ½ miles before the collision with the oncoming train and there was inevitably fright and pandemonium and eventually horror amongst the passengers. As the doors were locked, many children were saved by being thrown from the windows, which were too small for adults, who had therefore little chance for escape. The impact of the collision meant that some doors burst open and as a result some adults were able to throw themselves down the Killuney embankment on the right hand side of Portadown Road just outside the city boundary where the crash occurred.
Mrs Hamilton, the wife of an RIC Sergeant, claimed that she had thrown her own and other children to safety before jumping from an open door. Many others were not so fortunate and had no option but to resign themselves to a terrible fate. There was a horrific outcome that to this day is still virtually indescribable. Many died and many were injured. Surgeon-Major Lynn, the leading Methodist layman and one of the organisers, who had been travelling on the train, observed, “Many a bitter battlefield did not display such carnage.” This was a scene of utter devastation.
Help was summoned. The Army from Gough Barracks and the RIC quickly arrived to assist at the scene. Pieces of rail carriages and equipment were scattered around; the belongings of excursionists were strewn on the embankment – it was a place of carnage. People were dazed, parents were looking in desperation for their children, despair was prevalent, and in the midst of this chaotic adversity others were doing their best to help.
One witness, recounting his efforts to help amongst the wreckage, said he saw a dead child with little sisters standing nearby; he witnessed several bodies mangled beyond recognition and people walking around in a dazed state.
Another witness wrote that ‘the screams of the injured were heart-rending. I shall never forget the scene as long as I live’.
Surgeon-Major Lynn, Dr Palmer of the local infirmary and other local doctors worked with the injured. The Army brought ambulances and all kinds of conveyances were requisitioned to transfer the dead and injured. Some doctors came from Belfast and elsewhere to help as news of the scale of the tragedy spread. The Armagh Infirmary was extensively used to care for the injured.
In all 89 men, women and children died at the scene or from injuries sustained in the accident.
FATALITIES AND MOURNING
There were 89 fatalities. All denominations suffered – Church of Ireland (35), Presbyterian (19), Methodist (18), Roman Catholic (9) and others. Amongst the dead was the son of the Rev. William R McMullin, Minister of Abbey Street Methodist Church, who was attending the annual Methodist Conference in Cork. When he returned to Armagh, as well as the trauma of his son lying in a coffin in the Manse, he found that his Sunday School Superintendent, Samuel Steel, was dead and every member of the Abbey Street Church Choir either dead or injured. The loss included many young people - nineteen were under the age of 15, twenty-seven were between 15 and 20. The dead were from every walk of life and included several from the same family.
DEATHS, INJURY AND ESCAPE
The runaway carriages had gathered speed rapidly for the 1 ½ miles before the collision with the oncoming train and there was inevitably fright and pandemonium and eventually horror amongst the passengers. As the doors were locked, many children were saved by being thrown from the windows, which were too small for adults, who had therefore little chance for escape. The impact of the collision meant that some doors burst open and as a result some adults were able to throw themselves down the Killuney embankment on the right hand side of Portadown Road just outside the city boundary where the crash occurred.
Mrs Hamilton, the wife of an RIC Sergeant, claimed that she had thrown her own and other children to safety before jumping from an open door. Many others were not so fortunate and had no option but to resign themselves to a terrible fate. There was a horrific outcome that to this day is still virtually indescribable. Many died and many were injured. Surgeon-Major Lynn, the leading Methodist layman and one of the organisers, who had been travelling on the train, observed, “Many a bitter battlefield did not display such carnage.” This was a scene of utter devastation.
Help was summoned. The Army from Gough Barracks and the RIC quickly arrived to assist at the scene. Pieces of rail carriages and equipment were scattered around; the belongings of excursionists were strewn on the embankment – it was a place of carnage. People were dazed, parents were looking in desperation for their children, despair was prevalent, and in the midst of this chaotic adversity others were doing their best to help.
One witness, recounting his efforts to help amongst the wreckage, said he saw a dead child with little sisters standing nearby; he witnessed several bodies mangled beyond recognition and people walking around in a dazed state.
Another witness wrote that ‘the screams of the injured were heart-rending. I shall never forget the scene as long as I live’.
Surgeon-Major Lynn, Dr Palmer of the local infirmary and other local doctors worked with the injured. The Army brought ambulances and all kinds of conveyances were requisitioned to transfer the dead and injured. Some doctors came from Belfast and elsewhere to help as news of the scale of the tragedy spread. The Armagh Infirmary was extensively used to care for the injured.
In all 89 men, women and children died at the scene or from injuries sustained in the accident.
FATALITIES AND MOURNING
There were 89 fatalities. All denominations suffered – Church of Ireland (35), Presbyterian (19), Methodist (18), Roman Catholic (9) and others. Amongst the dead was the son of the Rev. William R McMullin, Minister of Abbey Street Methodist Church, who was attending the annual Methodist Conference in Cork. When he returned to Armagh, as well as the trauma of his son lying in a coffin in the Manse, he found that his Sunday School Superintendent, Samuel Steel, was dead and every member of the Abbey Street Church Choir either dead or injured. The loss included many young people - nineteen were under the age of 15, twenty-seven were between 15 and 20. The dead were from every walk of life and included several from the same family.
The next day the bells of the city Churches took turns to toll, businesses closed and the streets were deserted as the extent and pain of the tragedy bore down on the community. There followed a long succession of funerals with the last thirty-five victims buried on the Saturday. The scenes in the graveyards are recorded as heart-breaking with the Belfast Newsletter reporting:
“…especially when one hears the groans and sobs of not only women and children, but of strong men who have come to lay their nearest and dearest in their last resting place”.
The Armagh Rail Disaster had a known profound impact, not only within the city and district, but on the national stage as well. A special relief fund was quickly established to help the injured and bereaved. It was also this fund that helped establish a new ward in the Armagh infirmary as a memorial to the Armagh Rail Disaster.
Rev William R McMullin
Minister
Samuel Steel
Sunday School Superintendent
GNR officials were arrested and held in Armagh Gaol, and questioned by the RIC. Public Enquiries, Inquests and Trials took place and all recounted the stories of that fateful day.
Joseph Peel, as the coroner, conducted the Inquests. The Board of Trade produced a report and promised that it would bring in a Bill to improve rail safety. On August, 30th 1889 the Regulation of Railways Act came into force to ensure that such a catastrophe would not occur again.
Armagh families still recall through the generations the impact of the Rail Disaster. It is fitting that a Sculpture was unveiled on The Mall 125 years later to commemorate all those who died and were injured.