Charles Bianconi (1786-1875), was born Carlo Bianconi in
Costa Masnaga (
Italy) on
September 24, 1786. He moved from an area poised to fall to
Napoleon and travelled to
Ireland in 1802, via England, just four years after the
1798 rebellion. At the time, British fear of continental invasion resulted in an acute sense of insecurity and additional restrictions on the admission of foreigners. He eventually became famous for his innovations in transport and was twice mayor of
Clonmel, in
County Tipperary.
He was the founder of public transportation in Ireland, at a time preceding railways. He established regular horse-drawn carriage services on various routes from about 1815 onwards. These were known as 'Bianconi coaches'. There were also a series of inns, the Bianconi Inns, some of which still exist e.g. in Piltown, County Kilkenny and Killorglin.
These services continued into the 1850s and later, by which time there were a number of railway services in the country. The Bianconi coaches continued to be well-patronised, by offering connections from various termini, one of the first and few examples of an integrated transport system in Ireland.
Bianconi died on September 22, 1875 at "Longfield House", Boherlahan, Co. Tipperary.
