Kingstown is the harbour town reached by train during the night-time excursion in “After the Race.” Its dark, still harbour briefly sets a quiet scene against the party’s noisy celebration, as Jimmy Doyle and his companions arrive there and move together toward the water.

Arrival by Train

After a drive through the crowd, Jimmy and the others take the train at Westland Row. The journey seems to pass in seconds, and they step out at Kingstown Station. An elderly ticket-collector recognizes Jimmy sufficiently to salute him and remark on the fine night, a small sign of the local familiarity surrounding the arrival.

The Harbour at Night

The party proceeds toward the harbour, which lies below them like a darkened mirror on a serene summer night. This image pauses the scene’s rapid, sociable movement: the train has carried the men from the city’s crowd into a spacious coastal setting, but the water’s stillness does not end their collective excitement.

The Party’s Movement and Mood

With arms linked, the men sing “Cadet Roussel” in chorus and stamp their feet. Their singing and coordinated movement turn the approach to the harbour into a continuation of the excursion rather than a solitary encounter with the landscape. Kingstown thus provides a setting where the group’s buoyant energy gathers into a shared, public performance, framed by the calm harbour and the summer night.