Ireland (Irish: Éire), also known as the Republic of Ireland (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland.
In The Railway Series, the Island of Sodor is located in the Irish Sea, which is also the case in Thomas & Friends and Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go.
History[]
The Railway Series[]
An Irish missionary named Luoc proved to be more successful. He and some companions set out for Man in coracles, but Luoc fell asleep, was blown off course, and ended up on the shore in Suddery bay. The locals treated him well and he built a "keeill". He preached to the locals, and a church, nowadays known as Suddery Cathedral, was built on the site. He is remembered in the city’s motto and coat of arms, the latter of which shows him as a bishop, standing in a coracle holding a crosier. Suddery later became the ancient capital of Sodor.
Godred MacHarold (known in legend as King Orry or Starstrider), the younger son of Harold, the Danish king of Limerick, was King of Sodor and Man from 979 to 989. Seizing his chance after the defeat of the Norse at the hands of the Irish, he harried Wales, then landed on Man. There, he pointed to the stars reflected in the water and said to the locals "There is the path running from my country to this place. That is my road to fame and fortune." Godred gave Sodor and Man ten years of peace, and his reign is remembered as a golden age. In Sodor, he is remembered affectionately as King Orry.
Earl Sigurd of Orkney fell at the battle of Clontarf in Ireland in 1014. His heir, Thorfinn, was an infant at the time, and so Harold took his chance and claimed Sodor and Man, ruling for twenty years before Thorfinn drove him out.
By the time Thorfinn's grip on power was loosening, Godred had set about regaining his father's former kingdom, leaving Ogmund in Sodor. With Sodor secure, Godred completed his goal of conquering the Isles, Dublin and finally Man at the battle of Sky Hill in 1079.
After Godred Crovan's death, the regency of Dublin decided to send Olaf, Godred's heir, to be brought up in the court of King Henry I. Sudrians took a poor view of this, however, and decided to break away. The move was approved by Magnus Barford, King of Norway, whose fleet, deployed in the area, was enough to prevent any reprisals from Dublin.
In the Sudric language, Ireland is called Nerin, and the Irish Sea is called Faarkey-Y-Nerin. The current Sudric language was brought over by Norsemen raised in Ireland who had acquired Middle Irish, such as Godred MacHarold. It can be presumed that Sudric's evolution from Middle Irish began after the Kingdom of Sodor declared independence from the Kingdom of Dublin and the Isles in 1099.
The North Western Railway was formed in 1914 by the Government-sponsored amalgamation of the three then-extant standard gauge railways on the island - the Sodor and Mainland, the Wellsworth and Suddery and the Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge, the latter two already in the process of amalgamation - as a strategic railway for coastal defence against possible danger from Ireland.
Thomas & Friends[]
While Victor was on a ferry from Cuba to Sodor, they stopped at Ireland, where a crane lifted Luke onto the ferry.
Rolling Stock[]
Locomotives[]
Thomas & Friends[]
Humans[]
The Railway Series[]
Thomas & Friends[]
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Ireland was possibly the second country that The Railway Series was published in after the United Kingdom.
- Three stories in The Railway Series were inspired by railway events which occurred in Ireland
- Cows in the book Edward the Blue Engine is based on two events, one of them being in Ireland, involved a herd of cows charging and breaking a train on 28 November 1952.
- Bertie's Chase in the book Edward the Blue Engine is based on an event which occurred in Ireland. The story was provided to the Rev. W. Awdry by Gerard Fiennes, who later became General Manager of the Western and Eastern Regions of British Railways.
- The collision between George and Sir Handel in Steam-Roller in the book Gallant Old Engine was based on an event that took place in Muskerry, County Cork, Ireland in 1927.
- The orange mobile crane in The Railway Series book Thomas Comes Home was revealed to be called Murphy by Clive Spong and likened him to an "Irish navvie cliché".[1]
- In Thomas & Friends, there have been some characters that have spoke with Irish accents including;
- Tom Tipper in the US narration of Mind that Bike.
- Patrick the cement mixer in the US narration.
- Around 2013, Irish actor and comedian Ardal O'Hanlon was asked to voice Patrick, however he declined the role, implying that Patrick was at some point intended to return in the CGI series.[2]
- Salty in the US narration of the sixth series.
- Freddie in the UK narration of the twelfth series.
- Connor and Caitlin.
- Oliver the excavator in the CGI series.
- Alec Baldwin's first daughter is called Ireland Baldwin.
- On 30 April 1999,[3] The Fat Controller from Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (portrayed by Simon Fisher-Becker) visited The Den, meeting presenter Damien McCaul and puppets Soky and Dustin the Turkey. (YouTube)
- Near the end of his visit, Damien tells the viewers you can see The Fat Controller at the RDS in Dublin at the weekend (1 and 2 May 1999).
- According to the character notes for the script of the Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Patch was originally intended to be Irish. In some raw footage from filming on the Isle of Man, McMains can be heard attempting a minor Irish accent, including using the term "Mum" to refer to his mother, although in the finished film Patch's nationality appears to be American.[1]
- The Thomas Saves the Day live show was performed in the RDS in Dublin in 2008.
- The song Blue Mountain Mystery featured in the special of the same name is performed as an Irish folk song.
- Additionally, some background music in the special is reminiscent of Irish music.
- In a Leaving Certification exam paper for Design & Communication Graphics, the 2006 Wooden Railway Sodor Suspension Bridge is used as an
- In the UK dub of Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, Skiff speaks with an Irish accent.
References[]
- ↑ Happy New Year!". Twitter. 01Salty. 1 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. "The orange crane, I imagined as MURPHY - sort of Irish navvie cliché."
- ↑ https://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/richard_herring_edinburgh/2013_15_ardal_ohanlon_terry_alderton/
- ↑ Fat Controller Interview RTE 1999 Web Quality