Irish Buses in the mid-1960s: A return journey

In this, his second album on Irish buses, Richard Newman, not a local but a native of Portsmouth, takes us on a journey through the interesting bus scene of an Ireland very different to today, the Ireland of the mid-1960s.

In 1964, Richard had acquired an Ilford Sportsman 35mm camera so he had the opportunity to better record the Irish bus scene on his first visit in 1965. He returned in July 1967 for a more extensive tour and again for an extended day trip in May 1968, this to record the closure of the Belfast trolleybus system.

Amongst other locations, Richard visited Belfast, Dublin, Londonderry and Waterford where, as well as the interesting bus scene, the backgrounds to his pictures also provide much interest, some locations having changed greatly, other still very recognisable today. In addition to the major operators - Belfast Corporation Transport, Coras Iompair Eireann and the Ulster Transport Authority/Ulsterbus - Richard also recorded the vehicles of some better known operators in the independent sector, including the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company.