Pinned Tweet
My derelictsites.com website has just gone live.🏚️⚡️🎉
I've created a data-led project focused on vacancy and dereliction in Ireland as part of the wider housing and town-centre crisis.
This regeneration project examines the scale and impact of derelict and long-term public-facing landing page at derelictsites.com reviews derelict sites currently on the register across five local authorities—Cork County Council, Cork City Council, Dublin City Council, Limerick City & County Council, and Mayo County Council. I've built a digital database to increase transparency and visually identify dereliction hotspots across each county. This map-based public register tracks locations, enforcement steps, and estimated values. It includes photos of derelict sites and Google Street View links to make the records easier to understand. I've also included useful links and available grants explaining the Derelict Sites Process Workflow.
This is a public-facing landing page for draft demonstrations built by me. It provides an overview and links to each register and supporting information. This is a demonstration platform and portfolio project that shows how statutory register data can be structured for public transparency and internal decision support.
This website is a regeneration-focused initiative documenting and analysing derelict and long-term vacant property in Ireland. Built as a structured, evidence-led platform, it converts fragmented statutory registers into a clear, map-based resource revealing the scale, geography, and real-world impacts of vacancy, underuse, and town centre decline.
The project does more than highlight dereliction as a problem. By combining clean, structured data, mapping, and accessible communication, it helps local authorities, practitioners, and the public understand where dereliction is concentrated, what stage cases are at, and what opportunities exist for regeneration.
Through developing this platform, I am building practical expertise in vacancy classification, data cleaning and standardisation (including address and Eircode quality), mapping and visualisation, and stakeholder-focused reporting. My goal is to contribute to a local authority or housing regeneration teams working on Town Centre First delivery, vacant homes activation, and sustainable reuse strategies—bringing a strong digital and data-led approach to real-world implementation.
🔮 Future plans:
Expand coverage: Add more local authority registers while maintaining a consistent structure and terminology. Include vacant sites in the register database.
Improve data quality: Standardise addresses, add Eircodes where missing, and document a repeatable QA workflow.
Richer enforcement timelines: Track key statutory stages and dates more consistently, so progress and delays are visible.
Better analytics: Add district and town breakdowns, CPO numbers, trend views such as dereliction clusters, and "time on register" metrics to highlight long-standing cases.
Case studies: Include short, evidence-based examples of successful reuse (before/after, costs, barriers, outcomes).
Decision-support outputs: Create exportable reports and summaries that support internal briefings and member queries.
For collaboration, feedback, or demonstration requests, please get in touch.
Regards
Rob Cross
I've created a data-led project focused on vacancy and dereliction in Ireland as part of the wider housing and town-centre crisis.
This regeneration project examines the scale and impact of derelict and long-term public-facing landing page at derelictsites.com reviews derelict sites currently on the register across five local authorities—Cork County Council, Cork City Council, Dublin City Council, Limerick City & County Council, and Mayo County Council. I've built a digital database to increase transparency and visually identify dereliction hotspots across each county. This map-based public register tracks locations, enforcement steps, and estimated values. It includes photos of derelict sites and Google Street View links to make the records easier to understand. I've also included useful links and available grants explaining the Derelict Sites Process Workflow.
This is a public-facing landing page for draft demonstrations built by me. It provides an overview and links to each register and supporting information. This is a demonstration platform and portfolio project that shows how statutory register data can be structured for public transparency and internal decision support.
This website is a regeneration-focused initiative documenting and analysing derelict and long-term vacant property in Ireland. Built as a structured, evidence-led platform, it converts fragmented statutory registers into a clear, map-based resource revealing the scale, geography, and real-world impacts of vacancy, underuse, and town centre decline.
The project does more than highlight dereliction as a problem. By combining clean, structured data, mapping, and accessible communication, it helps local authorities, practitioners, and the public understand where dereliction is concentrated, what stage cases are at, and what opportunities exist for regeneration.
Through developing this platform, I am building practical expertise in vacancy classification, data cleaning and standardisation (including address and Eircode quality), mapping and visualisation, and stakeholder-focused reporting. My goal is to contribute to a local authority or housing regeneration teams working on Town Centre First delivery, vacant homes activation, and sustainable reuse strategies—bringing a strong digital and data-led approach to real-world implementation.
🔮 Future plans:
Expand coverage: Add more local authority registers while maintaining a consistent structure and terminology. Include vacant sites in the register database.
Improve data quality: Standardise addresses, add Eircodes where missing, and document a repeatable QA workflow.
Richer enforcement timelines: Track key statutory stages and dates more consistently, so progress and delays are visible.
Better analytics: Add district and town breakdowns, CPO numbers, trend views such as dereliction clusters, and "time on register" metrics to highlight long-standing cases.
Case studies: Include short, evidence-based examples of successful reuse (before/after, costs, barriers, outcomes).
Decision-support outputs: Create exportable reports and summaries that support internal briefings and member queries.
For collaboration, feedback, or demonstration requests, please get in touch.
Regards
Rob Cross
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Ireland’s Railway Past, Present and Future – Interactive Map🚂🛤️
I created this interactive map to show how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time. Explore historic routes and stations, today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects.
Click re the Interactive Map:
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
Footage from the 1920s shows the Lartigue monorail, the only monorail in the world to operate successfully on a commercial basis. Frenchman Charles Lartigue designed this steam-powered monorail, which ran for nine miles between Listowel and Ballybunion in County Kerry from 1888 to 1924. It carried passengers, livestock and freight on a rail supported by A-shaped trestles. The last train ran on 14 October 1924, and everything was scrapped.
Most of the track was sold to local farmers for use as fencing, except for a short section. Visitors to Listowel can now take a demonstration journey on a full-scale, diesel-powered replica of the original monorail and visit the Lartigue Museum.
The music I added is “The Bridge” by Liam O’Flynn (1945–2018), Ireland’s foremost exponent of the uilleann pipes.
#TheColourOfIreland #Ireland #History #IrishHistory #IrishCulture #Kerry #Listowel #Ballybunion #railroad #rail #railway #railways_worldwide #railways #trainspotting #trains #Monorail
I created this interactive map to show how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time. Explore historic routes and stations, today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects.
Click re the Interactive Map:
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
Footage from the 1920s shows the Lartigue monorail, the only monorail in the world to operate successfully on a commercial basis. Frenchman Charles Lartigue designed this steam-powered monorail, which ran for nine miles between Listowel and Ballybunion in County Kerry from 1888 to 1924. It carried passengers, livestock and freight on a rail supported by A-shaped trestles. The last train ran on 14 October 1924, and everything was scrapped.
Most of the track was sold to local farmers for use as fencing, except for a short section. Visitors to Listowel can now take a demonstration journey on a full-scale, diesel-powered replica of the original monorail and visit the Lartigue Museum.
The music I added is “The Bridge” by Liam O’Flynn (1945–2018), Ireland’s foremost exponent of the uilleann pipes.
#TheColourOfIreland #Ireland #History #IrishHistory #IrishCulture #Kerry #Listowel #Ballybunion #railroad #rail #railway #railways_worldwide #railways #trainspotting #trains #Monorail
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Ireland’s Railway Past, Present and Future – Interactive Map🚋🔴
I created this interactive map to show how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time. Explore historic routes and stations, today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects.
Click re the Interactive Map:
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
1902 iconic footage of a bustling and elegant Patrick Street in Cork City featuring the electric-powered trams of the Cork Electric Tramways Company.
#PureCork #LoveCork #TheColourOfIreland #Ireland #History #IrishHistory #IrishCulture #Cork #Trams #rail #railway #railways_worldwide #railways #trainspotting #trains
I created this interactive map to show how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time. Explore historic routes and stations, today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects.
Click re the Interactive Map:
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
1902 iconic footage of a bustling and elegant Patrick Street in Cork City featuring the electric-powered trams of the Cork Electric Tramways Company.
#PureCork #LoveCork #TheColourOfIreland #Ireland #History #IrishHistory #IrishCulture #Cork #Trams #rail #railway #railways_worldwide #railways #trainspotting #trains
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Ireland’s Railway Past, Present and Future – Interactive Map
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
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Bringing Ireland's Past to Life 🇮🇪🇺🇸🚂⛵️🌳🪚
My coloured and restored c. 1910 Robert French photo of Foynes Harbour and Railway Terminus in County Limerick. Foynes railway station opened on April 29, 1858, as the terminus of a line from Limerick City. The station closed to 4, 1963, but remained open for freight traffic until October 30, 2000. It will be reopened to freight traffic in 2026, with potential for passenger service in the future. Notably, Foynes was the last port of call for the Evelyn steamer, which transported uniforms from the Limerick Clothing Factory to the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, 1861 – 1865. On the right-hand side stands Monteagle Mills, which sourced timber from Russia and Scandinavia during the 19th century.
#TheColourofIreland #Limerick #Ireland #Railways
My coloured and restored c. 1910 Robert French photo of Foynes Harbour and Railway Terminus in County Limerick. Foynes railway station opened on April 29, 1858, as the terminus of a line from Limerick City. The station closed to 4, 1963, but remained open for freight traffic until October 30, 2000. It will be reopened to freight traffic in 2026, with potential for passenger service in the future. Notably, Foynes was the last port of call for the Evelyn steamer, which transported uniforms from the Limerick Clothing Factory to the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, 1861 – 1865. On the right-hand side stands Monteagle Mills, which sourced timber from Russia and Scandinavia during the 19th century.
#TheColourofIreland #Limerick #Ireland #Railways
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Btw, photo by @wandererphotos / instagram.com/thewandererpho… 🙏
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Rob Cross retweeted
Tip: For the best experience, click the 'Expand' button on the interactive map and view it in a desktop browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
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Ireland’s Railway Past, Present and Future 🐴🚂🚋🚆
I created this interactive map, which lets you explore how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time, from historic routes and stations to today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects. ow to explore the map:
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
What can you do with it?
-Search for a station, route, place or railway company and zoom to the result.
-Choose layers to show or hide particular routes, stations, stops and names.
-Travel through time using the Year Explorer slider or play button, watching dated routes appear and disappear.
-Explore individual routes using the View buttons, which zoom to a line and can also show its stops and names.
-Click a line or marker to see its details, including dates, sources and research notes where available.
-Switch backgrounds between OpenStreetMap and a simplified built-in map, and open the legend and map-contents panel for more information.
What does the map include?
Historic Railways:
A broad collection of former railway lines and stations across Ireland, including researched sections of the Westport–Achill and Galway–Clifden branches and several County Donegal routes. It also includes a separate 2012 railway timeline dataset, covering selected lines and stations rather than the complete island-wide network.
Historic Tramways:
Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Galway tram networks, as well as the Lucan, Castlederg and Victoria Bridge, and Giant’s Causeway tramways. Selected stops or termini are shown, and some routes have historical photographs that can be displayed over the map.
Narrow-gauge Railways:
Dedicated controls for routes including the Ballycastle, Ballymena and Larne, Clogher Valley, Londonderry and Lough Swilly, Schull and Skibbereen, and Cork and Muskerry railways, among others. The historic Listowel–Ballybunion Lartigue monorail is also included.
Present-day Transport and Heritage:
Modern railway lines, DART and Dublin Luas are included, alongside the reconstructed Lartigue demonstration railway in Listowel and the Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway. The latter two are shown separately from their historic predecessors.
Future Projects:
The map includes illustrative layers for Cork Luas, MetroLink and Luas Finglas, plus the reinstated Limerick–Foynes freight line. Luas Lucan and Poolbeg have project links but no routes drawn yet.
#History #Ireland #NorthernIreland #IrishRail #Trains #Trams #RailwayHistory #MetroLink #Luas #Transport #TheColourOfIreland
I created this interactive map, which lets you explore how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time, from historic routes and stations to today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects. ow to explore the map:
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
What can you do with it?
-Search for a station, route, place or railway company and zoom to the result.
-Choose layers to show or hide particular routes, stations, stops and names.
-Travel through time using the Year Explorer slider or play button, watching dated routes appear and disappear.
-Explore individual routes using the View buttons, which zoom to a line and can also show its stops and names.
-Click a line or marker to see its details, including dates, sources and research notes where available.
-Switch backgrounds between OpenStreetMap and a simplified built-in map, and open the legend and map-contents panel for more information.
What does the map include?
Historic Railways:
A broad collection of former railway lines and stations across Ireland, including researched sections of the Westport–Achill and Galway–Clifden branches and several County Donegal routes. It also includes a separate 2012 railway timeline dataset, covering selected lines and stations rather than the complete island-wide network.
Historic Tramways:
Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Galway tram networks, as well as the Lucan, Castlederg and Victoria Bridge, and Giant’s Causeway tramways. Selected stops or termini are shown, and some routes have historical photographs that can be displayed over the map.
Narrow-gauge Railways:
Dedicated controls for routes including the Ballycastle, Ballymena and Larne, Clogher Valley, Londonderry and Lough Swilly, Schull and Skibbereen, and Cork and Muskerry railways, among others. The historic Listowel–Ballybunion Lartigue monorail is also included.
Present-day Transport and Heritage:
Modern railway lines, DART and Dublin Luas are included, alongside the reconstructed Lartigue demonstration railway in Listowel and the Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway. The latter two are shown separately from their historic predecessors.
Future Projects:
The map includes illustrative layers for Cork Luas, MetroLink and Luas Finglas, plus the reinstated Limerick–Foynes freight line. Luas Lucan and Poolbeg have project links but no routes drawn yet.
#History #Ireland #NorthernIreland #IrishRail #Trains #Trams #RailwayHistory #MetroLink #Luas #Transport #TheColourOfIreland
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Tip: For the best experience, click the 'Expand' button on the interactive map and view it in a desktop browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
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Discover Ireland’s Railway Past, Present and Future! 🚂
I created this interactive map to explore Ireland’s railway and tram lines, past and present, as well as future projects such as the Dublin MetroLink and the proposed Luas lines for Cork and Finglas.
Search for routes or ough time with the Year Explorer.
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
#History #IrishRail #Trams #RailwayHistory #MetroLink #Luas #TheColourOfIreland
I created this interactive map to explore Ireland’s railway and tram lines, past and present, as well as future projects such as the Dublin MetroLink and the proposed Luas lines for Cork and Finglas.
Search for routes or ough time with the Year Explorer.
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
#History #IrishRail #Trams #RailwayHistory #MetroLink #Luas #TheColourOfIreland
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Here is the latest version:
x.com/RobCross247/st…
x.com/RobCross247/st…
Ireland’s Railway Past, Present and Future 🐴🚂🚋🚆
I created this interactive map, which lets you explore how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time, from historic routes and stations to today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects. ow to explore the map:
derelictsites.com/Ireland-s-Rail…
What can you do with it?
-Search for a station, route, place or railway company and zoom to the result.
-Choose layers to show or hide particular routes, stations, stops and names.
-Travel through time using the Year Explorer slider or play button, watching dated routes appear and disappear.
-Explore individual routes using the View buttons, which zoom to a line and can also show its stops and names.
-Click a line or marker to see its details, including dates, sources and research notes where available.
-Switch backgrounds between OpenStreetMap and a simplified built-in map, and open the legend and map-contents panel for more information.
What does the map include?
Historic Railways:
A broad collection of former railway lines and stations across Ireland, including researched sections of the Westport–Achill and Galway–Clifden branches and several County Donegal routes. It also includes a separate 2012 railway timeline dataset, covering selected lines and stations rather than the complete island-wide network.
Historic Tramways:
Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Galway tram networks, as well as the Lucan, Castlederg and Victoria Bridge, and Giant’s Causeway tramways. Selected stops or termini are shown, and some routes have historical photographs that can be displayed over the map.
Narrow-gauge Railways:
Dedicated controls for routes including the Ballycastle, Ballymena and Larne, Clogher Valley, Londonderry and Lough Swilly, Schull and Skibbereen, and Cork and Muskerry railways, among others. The historic Listowel–Ballybunion Lartigue monorail is also included.
Present-day Transport and Heritage:
Modern railway lines, DART and Dublin Luas are included, alongside the reconstructed Lartigue demonstration railway in Listowel and the Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway. The latter two are shown separately from their historic predecessors.
Future Projects:
The map includes illustrative layers for Cork Luas, MetroLink and Luas Finglas, plus the reinstated Limerick–Foynes freight line. Luas Lucan and Poolbeg have project links but no routes drawn yet.
#History #Ireland #NorthernIreland #IrishRail #Trains #Trams #RailwayHistory #MetroLink #Luas #Transport #TheColourOfIreland
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This interactive map lets you explore how railways and tramways across Ireland have changed over time—from historic routes and stations to today’s network, heritage railways and proposed future projects.
@irishrailways @IrishRailway @irrsofficial @IrishRail @MetroLink_ie @Luas @lorraineelizab6 @HistIreHedge @HistFest @UCCHistory @TFIupdates @deptinfra @Dept_Transport @brian_caulfield @DublinCommuters @MobyMove @IrishCycle @DarraghOBrienTD
@irishrailways @IrishRailway @irrsofficial @IrishRail @MetroLink_ie @Luas @lorraineelizab6 @HistIreHedge @HistFest @UCCHistory @TFIupdates @deptinfra @Dept_Transport @brian_caulfield @DublinCommuters @MobyMove @IrishCycle @DarraghOBrienTD
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Rob Cross retweeted
Brilliant.
What's amazing is that oranmore has some of the highest property prices in the country.
The owners of these really need to be named and shamed. So much potential on that street/town.
What's amazing is that oranmore has some of the highest property prices in the country.
The owners of these really need to be named and shamed. So much potential on that street/town.
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Rob Cross retweeted
Yes, I was down there over the weekend. It’s shocking to see dereliction taking hold in cities, towns and villages throughout Ireland.
#Galway #Ireland #HousingCrisis #DerelictIreland
#Galway #Ireland #HousingCrisis #DerelictIreland
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