Portlaoise Station Building, pictured on 22 May 2018. Originally called Maryborough, the station was opened in 1847 by the Great Southern and Western Railway. It later became a junction, with the opening of the Waterford & Kilkenny Railway. The station ceased to be a junction in 1963, after the closure of the short branch to Abbeyleix. The line to Kilkenny had closed the previous year.