Early road transport relied mainly on the horse, either on its own or with a carriage or wagon.
Coach and Horses
Drawing of a stage coach being pulled by two horses
Coach and Horses
Coach and Horses
Drawing of a stage coach being pulled by two horses
This type of travel was slow and dangerous.
Roads were very rough and were usually only winding cattle paths, which were unsuitable for use by coaches.
Timber bridges and then stone ones followed fords.
Roads were very rough and were usually only winding cattle paths, which were unsuitable for use by coaches.
Timber bridges and then stone ones followed fords.
In the 1700's increased mobility was helped by a greatly improved road-system. Turnpikes were introduced on the more important routes from 1729.
After this a stagecoach network developed and by the end of the 18th century, this linked the most important towns with the Dublin.
From the early 1900s cars and vans appeared on Irish roads.