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Towards the end of January, 1961 the people of West Cork were fighting to save their local railway service.
Per the Southern Star's report at the time, 'thousands of West Cork people signed the petition against the closing of the railway at the Church gates of all denominations in the area on Sunday last.'
The petition was organised by the Save Our Railway Association with the intention of being presented to the president at the time, Eamon DeValera.
At the time of the report, about 40,000 signatures had been collected from Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bantry, Castlehaven, Rath, Leap, Ballydehob and Schull.
There was an anticipation of even more signatures once the other West Cork parishes got a chance to sign the petition.
The petition - essentially - stated that C.I.E had not done enough to ensure the economic viability of the West Cork railway moving forward.
'The change-over from rail to road services will impose directly on the people of West Cork a far greater financial burden than the relatively trivial loss on the railway imposes on the national economy at present,' said the Southern Star's report.
The petition also mentions the Taoiseach's refusal to meet with a West Cork delegation to discuss the closure of the railways.
'The signatories of this petition firmly believe that the failure of the responsible authorities to meet representatives of the people on this matter is a complete denial of the principles of democracy enshrined in our Constitution. They likewise believe that the proposed action of C.I.E is undemocratic, illegal and harmful to the best interests of the country in general and to West Cork in particular.'
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