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public subscription, but Dargan offered another £6,000 as patronage. It eventually reached to the point that Dargan personally funded this exhibition with a considerable amount of £88,000. Dublin
Exhibition received many visitors. Although there were only 400 people on the first two days, this number rose to 4,000 a week later, and to 5,000 on the following day. The British royal party arrived at Dun Laoghaire on 29 August 1853 at the purpose to attend the exhibition, and
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to every strike or combination of workmen, of which the Irish are so fond. All he has done has been done on the field of
Industry & not of politics or Religion, without the Priest or factious conspiracy, without the promise of distant extraordinary advantages but with immediate apparent benefit. The
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was also subsequently bought in 1863 by Dargan with elaborate plans for extension. Financial issues meant that these plans were abandoned, and the original hotel was simply remodelled to fit Dargan's original purpose. From the original design envisioned, the only pieces realised were the centrepiece
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commented both on Dargan and the Dublin
Exhibition, "Mr Dargan is the man of the people. He is a simple, unobtrusive, retiring man, a thorough Irishman, not always quite sober of an evening, industrious, kind to his workmen, but the only man who has by his own determination & courage put a stop
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in Dublin. The young Dargan earned the relatively large sum of £300 for his work on this road and this provided the capital for future public works investments. Henry
Parnell MP described this road as "a model for other roads in the vicinity of Dublin". Around the same time Dargan contributed roads
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As the committee of the 1853 Exhibition believed that this event would be self-financing, mainly relying on Dargan's contribution of £20,000, it was announced that there would be no cash donations taken. After the building costs had risen by the autumn of 1852, the committee was forced to make a
380:. By 1853 he had constructed over six hundred miles of railway, and he had then contracts for two hundred more. He paid the highest wages with the greatest punctuality, and his credit was unbounded. At one time he was the largest railway projector in Ireland and one of its greatest capitalists.
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had originally intended to add a right-hand wing to the hotel but none of this came to be. The hotel was rechristened as the Royal Marine Hotel and opened in
September 1865. It is understood that the financial difficulties encountered during the purchasing and building of the hotel exacerbated
486:, which must be pronounced to be very successful, has done wonders in this respect. A private undertaking, unaided by Govt, or any Commission with Royal Authority, made and erected at the sole expense of a single Individual, & this an Irish Road contractor, not long ago a
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in 1825, Dargan had become increasingly invested in this project. To fight against the skepticism of any railway program in
Ireland, Dargan spent a considerable amount of unpaid time promoting this first railway of Ireland, working along with engineer
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William Dargan ultimately lost £20,000 on the venture. At the close of the exhibition, the Irish
National Gallery was built on Leinster Lawn, as a monument to Dargan, with a fine bronze statue of him in front of it, looking out upon Merrion Square.
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himself, who had raised himself solely by his own industry & energy, - it deserves the greatest credit & is looked upon by the Irish with infinite self-satisfaction as an emblem of national hope".
411:, he then took a tract of land whose culture he devoted himself to, but owing to some mismanagement the enterprise entailed a heavy loss. He also became a manufacturer, and set some mills working in
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439:, of which he was chairman. In 1866 he was seriously injured by a fall from his horse. He died at 2 Fitzwilliam Square East, Dublin, on 7 February 1867, and was buried in
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257:'s estate. His father, possibly also called William, was a tenant farmer, and there is nothing known about his mother. It is thought that he attended a local
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engineer of the 19th century and certainly the most important figure in railway construction. Dargan designed and built
Ireland's first railway line from
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was able to be opened on 17 December 1834, with eight trains in each direction, at full capacity. He next constructed the water communication between
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Queen's County, where he excelled in mathematics and accounting. He subsequently worked on his father's 101-acre farm before securing a position in a
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in 1833. In total he constructed over 1,300 km (800 miles) of railway to important urban centres of
Ireland. He was a member of the
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Dargan was born on 28 February 1799, in rural Queen's County (Laois) not far from Carlow town. He was the eldest in a large family of
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When Dargan came back to
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of 1851, William Dargan proposed to the society with an extended exhibition, with an offer of £20,000 of funding.
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In 1860, continuing his branching out into different business ventures, Dargan brought the International Hotel in
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On 13 October 1828, William Dargan married Jane Arkinstall in the Anglican Church of St Michael & All Angels,
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Mulligan, Fergus (2014). "William Dargan, the 1853 Dublin Exhibition and the National Gallery of Ireland".
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cemetery. His widow, Jane, was granted a civil list pension of £100 on 18 June 1870.
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as a surveyor. Dargan also served as assistant manager for about three years on the
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held at Leinster lawn in 1853. His achievements were honoured in 1995, when the
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729:"Did the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire financially ruin William Dargan?"
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205:(28 February 1799 – 7 February 1867) was arguably the most important
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Latterly he devoted himself chiefly to the working and extension of the
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elected Dargan as a life member in November 1851. After attending the
558:"William Dargan – the engineer who rejuvenated a nation on its knees"
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807: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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Dargan's financial issues, eventually leading to economic ruin.
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407:, but he declined this also. Wishing to encourage the growth of
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Mulligan, Fergus (2015). "William Dargan: An Honourable Life".
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365:, a signal triumph of engineering and constructive ability.
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Dictionary of Irish Biography - Cambridge University Press
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from John Quin. Another hotel named Hayes Royal Hotel in
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to plan the route. After a persistent effort of Dargan,
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Alexander Montgomery, The Illustrated magazine of art
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a new cable stayed bridge for Dublin's Light Railway
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51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
277:, Dargan began working with the Scottish engineer
233:in Belfast was opened, and again in 2004 when the
583:"Dargan, William | Dictionary of Irish Biography"
314:, which are two canals in the English midlands.
399:visited Dargan at his residence, Dargan Villa,
826:. Vol. 14. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
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395:, but declined. Following this, Britain's
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447:William Dargan and 1853 Dublin Exhibition
308:Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
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622:from the original on 24 September 2021
727:Comerford, Patrick (3 January 2019).
403:on 29 August 1853. She offered him a
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49:adding citations to reliable sources
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650:Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review
455:Statue of William Dargan in Dublin
374:Great Southern and Western Railway
225:. He was also responsible for the
16:Irish railway engineer (1799–1867)
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368:Other great works followed – the
823:Dictionary of National Biography
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475:personally met William Dargan.
36:needs additional citations for
860:Irish people in rail transport
351:Dublin & Kingstown Railway
342:Dublin & Kingstown Railway
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870:Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery
383:Dargan had a strong sense of
378:Midland Great Western Railway
865:Engineers from County Carlow
191:The Father of Irish Railways
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370:Dublin and Drogheda Railway
332:and the 13 kilometers long
241:were both named after him.
223:National Gallery of Ireland
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703:Dublin: a cultural history
701:Siobhán Marie Kilfeather,
427:and south wing. Architect
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610:Mulligan, Fergus (2009).
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770:Dublin Historical Record
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227:Great Dublin Exhibition
705:(Oxford, 2005), p. 143
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385:patriotism to Ireland
255:Earl of Portarlington
235:Dargan Bridge, Dublin
231:Dargan Railway Bridge
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219:Royal Dublin Society
45:improve this article
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387:. He was offered a
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174:(1867-02-07)
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43:Please help
38:verification
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845:1867 deaths
840:1799 births
798:Attribution
338:Grand Canal
293:Road, from
834:Categories
793:References
587:www.dib.ie
484:Exhibition
413:Chapelizod
389:knighthood
355:Lough Erne
153:1799-02-28
101:March 2017
71:newspapers
516:Banbridge
514:The Cut,
441:Glasnevin
424:Kingstown
405:baronetcy
334:Kilbeggan
330:Banbridge
245:Biography
182:, Ireland
163:, Ireland
782:24615994
738:21 March
662:24347797
620:Archived
592:14 March
567:14 March
532:See also
376:and the
319:Adbaston
310:and the
283:Holyhead
267:surveyor
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391:by the
359:Belfast
281:on the
273:MP for
253:on the
85:scholar
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372:, the
299:Sutton
295:Raheny
211:Dublin
180:Dublin
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658:JSTOR
544:Notes
499:Works
304:Louth
291:Howth
207:Irish
92:JSTOR
78:books
740:2022
628:2020
594:2023
569:2023
459:The
420:Bray
409:flax
357:and
239:Luas
202:MRDS
169:Died
147:Born
131:MRDS
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