Lartigue Monorail and Museum
Museum and short demonstration ride on a restored section of the Lartigue monorail that once linked Listowel and Ballybunion.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Listowel and Ballybunion Railway opened on 1 March 1888 and ran for ten miles between the two North Kerry towns. It used a system invented by the French engineer Charles Lartigue, who had shown a length of his line at an exhibition in London in 1886. At the time people in North Kerry were campaigning for a rail link to the coast, and the Lartigue system was chosen for it.
Instead of two rails, the trains ran on a single raised rail carried on A-shaped trestles, with the carriages hanging on either side of it and balanced like panniers. The line cost about £30,000 and carried passengers, freight, cattle and sand. It was never reliably profitable, and damage during the civil war of 1921 to 1923 hastened its end. It closed in 1924 after 36 years.
A restoration committee was formed in the mid-1990s, and building of a new section of line on John B Keane Road in Listowel began in November 2000. The restored monorail started running in June 2003. The museum occupies a restored former goods shed that also serves as the entrance hall and ticket office, and tells the story of the Lartigue and of the main-line railway through film, models and memorabilia.
Highlights
- Restored section of the world's first commercial passenger monorail
- Short monorail ride with the unusual switching system
- Film show on the original steam-powered Lartigue
- Scale models of the trains and of the station layouts
- Touch-screen archive of historic photographs and documents
Permanent exhibitions
- Lartigue Monorail Museum – In a restored goods shed, an audio-visual room shows film of the original steam-powered Lartigue, with scale models, interactive models of the line, a touch-screen archive of photographs and documents, and memorabilia such as tickets, posters, signs and lamps.
- Restored Lartigue monorail ride – Visitors can ride a short section of the restored monorail and see how the single-rail system and its unusual switching worked.
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €8 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €6Seniors |
| Children & teens | €4free up to age 2 · Children under 3 travel free. |
| Seniors | €6 |
| Groups | €4 per personSchool groups, per child; teachers accompanying school groups are free. |
| Families | €202 adults and 2 children |
Prices as published for the 2025 season; the website shows no currency (euro assumed).
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 2 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | €20 · 2 adults and 2 children |
A family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is offered, and school groups are welcome at a reduced rate.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Listowel Square · 7-min walk
A 7-minute walk from the bus stop in Listowel Square.
In Listowel on John B Keane Road. 19 km (12 miles) from Tarbert Ferry, 23 km (17 miles) from Tralee, 77 km (48 miles) from Limerick, 115 km (77 miles) from Cork and 273 km (170 miles) from Dublin.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | The ride is a short journey on the restored monorail; the website gives no duration. The museum is also the ticket office. |
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