Couple caught carrying out 'explicit acts' on Irish Rail train as second 'man exposed himself'
A total of 236 text complaints explicitly mentioning the Galway train service were received by Irish Rail
Instances of illicit drug use, sexual harassment, drunkenness and racism were among hundreds of complaints made by Galway train passengers since the introduction by Irish Rail of a dedicated text line for reporting antisocial behaviour.
They included reports of men openly 'snorting cocaine' on a service from Dublin to Galway, a couple 'carrying out explicit acts', and a stag party drinking and 'sexually harassing' young girls.
On a Galway to Dublin service, a drunk man vomited on a table that he was sharing with two other passengers, while a man on a Galway-Limerick train was reported for exposing himself in the carriage.
One passenger on a 7:30am train service from Galway to Dublin contacted the text line to report a man who was 'harassing' people on board, as well as taking sleeping tablets and spitting on the floor.
A passenger who was travelling from Ballinasloe to Dublin Heuston expressed concern for 'an elderly lady' on the train, who was allegedly being abused by a group of 'drunk people'.
A man was reportedly ‘passed out’ on the floor of a carriage on St. Patrick’s Day while travelling from Dublin to Galway, while a woman on the same train was bothering passengers and shouting that 'everyone will suffer', according to another complaint.
Passengers reported being annoyed at children playing with water pistols on train services, while two women travelling from Athlone to Galway caused a disturbance by drinking vodka and fighting with each other.
A man was reported to Irish Rail for 'abusing his children' on a train, while another 'really drunk guy' was the subject of a complaint alleging that he was harassing women, shouting at them, and trying to sit on their laps.
On another morning service from Galway to Dublin, two men were reportedly threatening to kill each other. A passenger recorded one such threat involving 'a bullet in the head' and offered to make it available to Irish Rail.
A woman was allegedly assaulted by a 'drunk and disorderly' man who was wandering between carriages as she tried to disembark from a Galway train at Heuston Station, while a 'rowdy' group of males was reported for racially abusing a man and threatening to 'smash his head in'.
A total of 236 text complaints explicitly mentioning Galway train services were received by Irish Rail between July 2019 and October 2025. Many complaints do not identify the location or destination of the services.
Many of these mention alcohol consumption, open drug use, and inappropriate or threatening behaviour by passengers. One referred to young boys using horse whips on a Galway train.
A large number of complaints during the Covid-19 pandemic concerned failure to wear facemasks on train services.
In one complaint, a pregnant woman on a 1:25pm Dublin-Galway train said she was sitting across from a man who was not wearing a mask, reporting that he sang constantly for almost two hours.
Several complaints referred to loud music being played by other passengers.
One complainant identified 'a crowd of losers in Hawaiian shirts', who were 'playing the worst music known to man' on a Galway-Dublin train.
A spokesman for Irish Rail said it is in a position to arrange a response to 'the vast majority' of text complaints either through security teams, station staff, or onboard staff members.
“Security patrols and the text alert system are among a wide range of resources we have in place to both prevent and respond to incidents of antisocial behaviour, with the text alert offering customers a discrete means of reporting incidents,” he said.
“We also have proactive joint patrols regularly with gardaí, a series of rapid response hubs around the network with gardaí to enable onboard staff on Intercity services to liaise directly with customers, and specific event plans with gardaí and security.”
The spokesman added that ‘the vast majority' of more than 55 million annual journeys on Irish Rail’s network occur without incident.
It’s not the first year of complaints over passenger behaviour. Last year saw 672 complaints logged with Irish Rail, with delays and service timekeeping the largest operational pressure point, accounting for nearly half of all grievances recorded.
The most shocking incident was a report of a gang of over 20 children armed with a knife and wooden sticks embarked on a train at Ballinasloe with an assortment of farm animals, which they proceeded to torture in between assaulting fellow passengers with aerosol cans, cigarette lighters and the sticks.