With Eurail you can travel by train on the complete isle of Ireland, both in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland.
Rail services in Ireland are operated by Iarnrod Éireann (Irish Rail). Trains in Northern Ireland are run by Northern Ireland Railways (NI Railways).
Ireland (Republic)
The national railway company of Ireland is called Iompair Éireann (Irish Rail). Irish Rail provides a modern, comfortable and frequent rail service to most parts of Ireland. Visit the website of the Irish railway company: Irish Rail.
Most trains in Ireland operate to and from Dublin. There are two main stations in Dublin: Connolly Station and Heuston Station. There are no trains connecting these stations, so you have to take a tram or bus to go from Connolly to Heuston.
Important long-distance connections from Dublin are:
- Dublin Heuston – Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Galway, Westport, Ballina and Waterford
- Dublin Connolly – Sligo, Wexford, Rosslare Europort and Belfast
The high-speed enterprise train is jointly operated by Iarnród Éireanna and NI Railways. It runs 8 times a day between Dublin Connolly and Belfast (Northern Ireland) in just over 2 hours.
Other InterCity routes in Ireland, that also stop at smaller stations:
- Cork – Tralee
- Cork – Limerick
- Limerick – Rosslare Europort
Smaller towns are connected by local railcar trains, that only have 2nd class compartments. Routes where these trains run are: Mallow – TraleeCork – Cobe and
Limmerick Junction – Limmerick – Ennis – Dublin – Dundalk – Dublin-Rosslare.
Your Eurail pass is also valid on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport), a suburban railway network in the Dublin area operated by Irish Rail. You have to show your pass at the ticket office to get access through the entrance gates.
Northern Ireland
NIR / Northern Ireland Railways is the national railway company of Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Railways operates trains on these main routes:
- Bangor Line: Bangor – Belfast – Lisburn – Portadown – Newry
- Derry Line: Londonderry – Coleraine – Ballymena – Antrim – Belfast
- Larne Line: Larne – Carrickfergus – Belfast
- Portrush Line: Coleraine – Portrush
- Cross Border Line: Belfast Central – Portadown – Newry – Dundalk – Dublin *
* the high-speed enterprise train runs 8 times a day between Belfast and Dublin Connolly (Republic of Ireland) in just over 2 hours. It is jointly operated by NI Railways and Iarnród Éireanna.
Related pages
For domestic trains in (Northern) Ireland reservations are not required, so you can just hop on any train with your Eurail pass.
It is possible to make reservations for IC trains. They can be made locally or online at www.irishrail.ie.
Scenic routes
- Londonderry – Coleraine
- Rosslare – Waterford / Rosslare – Rosslare – Wexford – Enniscorthy
- Wicklow – Greystones – Dun Laoghaire
Airport - station links
From Dublin airport Airlink buses go to Heuston and Connolly railway station (bus 748). Eurail passes are not valid on the bus.
Sydenham railway station is next to Belfast airport.
Eurail aid offices in Ireland
- Rail Travel Centre
Connoly Station, Amiens Street, Dublin 1
Mon-Sat: 7.00 – 22.20
Sun: 8.30 – 21.30 - NIR Travel
Great Victoria Street Station, Belfast, BT2 7UB
Mon-Fri: 9.00 – 17.00
Sat: 9.00 – 12.30
Ferry connections
Your Eurail pass entitles you to discounted ferry crossings from Irish Ferries, Norfolkline and Stena Line to France and the UK. See the page pass benefits Ireland.
