Irish Rail travel

The DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) does not go to Belfast. Head on over to the Irish Rail website for answers.

Let me state at the outset, before anyone jumps on me for it, that I intend no putdown. However, I do suggest, Stephanie, that you inform yourself a bit about Irish history. It will enhance your trip experience. Specifically, Belfast is in a different country from Dublin. Until fairly recently, the"Troubles" in Belfast made relations with the Irish Republic difficult. They wouldn't have shared a metro-area rapid transit system.
One thing that visitors to Belfast often see are the sectarian murals in the neighborhoods. You won't understand what they're about unless you know something about the centuries of religious and political conflict between the English and Anglo-Irish on one hand and the Irish of Gaelic descent on the other. While I'm at it, you know that the two countries don't use the same currency, don't you?

Wow, Rosalyn, what a collection of assumptions you make! Just because someone says they want to take the DART to Belfast, you assume they know nothing about Irish history, the Troubles, geography, OR the money? So she used the wrong name for the train between Dublin and Belfast (in case YOU didn't know, there is a fast train between the two) - big deal. Perhaps you should refrain from posting on threads for which you have no answer for the poster.

Please tell us more Rosalyn. I am thinking the OP didn't know what DART stood for. "Until fairly recently, the"Troubles" in Belfast made relations with the Irish Republic difficult." Relations between the RoI and NI were never too strained, at least not after the era of de Valera. The Gardai worked closely with the RUC throughout the Troubles. The RoI received lots of criticism from the nationalist community for what was perceived as having turned their backs on the plight of people in the north of Ireland. "They wouldn't have shared a metro-area rapid transit system." Not true, in fact the exact opposite is true. Train service between Dublin and Belfast existed before during and after the Troubles. It is a jointly owned system between Irish Rail and NI Rail. ".....centuries of religious and political conflict between the English and Anglo-Irish on one hand and the Irish of Gaelic descent on the other." So staggering oversimplified and incorrect, I am not going to try to correct.

^5, Michael! Also, Rosalyn, an official ceasefire agreement ended the Troubles decades before the DART system came into being. While it's true that Belfast and Dublin do not share the DART system, it isn't because of the Troubles.

Well, Michael, since the conflicts between the English and the Irish over English rule in Ireland extend back to the time of James I and further; I think it's accurate to say "centuries." Compared to that, the ceasefire between the IRA and the Protestant forces - - regular and irregular - - is recent.

"Compared to that, the ceasefire between the IRA and the Protestant forces - - regular and irregular - - is recent." You are digging deeper and revealing that you know as little as you claim the OP knows about Irish history. Your use of the term "Protestant forces" is a dead giveaway that your knowledge is superficial a best. The media likes to cast Irish conflict as a Catholic vs, Protestant. Ridiculous simplification. What you have are two sides: the unionists, who support continued political union with Britain. More militant unionists are referred to as loyalists. The other side are nationalists who support a united Ireland. Militant nationalists are referred to as republicans. Now if this were simply a religious issue as you state (i.e. "protestant forces"), then all unionists would be Protestants and all nationalists would be Catholic. Let's see, Wolfe Tone (and most of the United Irishmen movement), they were Protestants. Robert Emmet, a leader of another Irish revolt was Protestant. Being a student of Irish history I don't have to even tell you about Charles Stewart Parnell, second only to O"Connell in efforts toward home rule. Patrick Pearse, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, yep, he was a Protestant. More modern examples include Ronnie Bunting of the INLA, John Turnley of the Irish Independence Party, and Billy Leonard. Works the other way too. Did you know there is a Catholic Ulster Unionist Party? What you call the ceasefire was the Good Friday Agreement. See if you can find anything about Protestant forces in it:
http://www.nio.gov.uk/agreement.pdf Not even touching the regular and irregular nonsense. Are you saying the RUC was a Protestant organization?

What the heck, let's clean this up too. "....religious and political conflict between the English and Anglo-Irish on one hand and the Irish of Gaelic descent on the other." Religion and politics are a part of the story, but the central basis of conflict for all of Ireland was (and still is) economic. Ulster Scots who migrated to (mainly) the north of Ireland are left out of your assessment. They are much more important to the understanding of Irish conflict than the English or Anglo-Irish, especially in the north. The displaced native Irish were of Gaelic descent and Norse descent and Norman descent too. By the 1600s intermarrying between the peoples of various invasions virtually eliminated any truly Gaelic Irish. You were right about one thing. There has been conflict in Ireland for many centuries.

Dearest Rosalyn, Yes, I do understand the difference and do know the history. I have been looking at a lot of information lately and mixed up the Irish rail and DART. I am planning a 4 week trip and have been taking in as much as I can and got a little overloaded on the information(Dublin>Belfast>Edinburgh>Inverness>Rome), To be frank even though you said no putdown intended, you still came across pretty snotty. I thought this message broad was for helping people and your message still did anything but help. If you want to make nice may I ask if you do know the luggage restrictions for the Irish rail beside what is listed on the site?

Rail systems do not have a rigid size of luggage restriction like airlines. The general rule is "be reasonable". Trains usually have racks for small/medium cases and shelves at the ends of carriages for large items. What you've seen on the website simply means "don't bring so much luggage that you completely fill the space provided, and don't dump your case where it would obstruct anyone trying to get on or off, or block the gangway between the seats".

To add to what Philip said, what is reasonable can vary by time of day and type of train. The amount of luggage that is reasonable on a long haul train or at midday might not be reasonable on a short haul train during rush hour.

Phillip and Ed, thank you so much for this info!

Wanted to say earlier, but with all the frustration from Rosalyn kind of was a bit irritated. Thank you Nancy and Michael for looking out for fellow travelers!

Dublin to Belfast is a very nice rail journey. I have done it. Personally. The scenery is very nice. The people are very nice. The trains are very nice. Enjoy the trip. The only problem that USED to happen on that route was timetable disruption due to real or imagined bomb scares. Roger