A busy Dublin bound commuter train crashed into the train in front of it near Dalkey.
The accident happened shortly after 8.30 am in Dalkey in an area known locally as the Khyber Pass because of the steep inclines on either side of the track. The location made rescue attempts difficult. Both trains were carrying around 100 passengers, mainly school-children. 41 people were treated in hospital, including driver Tommy Doyle, the most seriously injured and the last to be rescued. He was trapped in his cab for three hours.
The rear carriage of the first train shot up into the air and then fell down on the engine of the following train.
Philippa Fowler, a qualified nurse living in the area describes the scene.
All the small children that were on the line we got them off the line.
This was the second crash this year on the Dublin Wexford line.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 16 November 1979. The reporter is Cathal Mac Coille.
