Damien Dempsey relates childhood incident in Irish Rail safety campaign

Singer Damien Dempsey has recalled how his friends were nearly hit by a train when trespassing on tracks as children.

As part of Irish Rail’s new safety campaign geared towards schoolgoers, the Dubliner remembered a “scary” experience on the tracks at Howth Junction station when the Belfast train approached at more than 100km per hour.

One of the trio “froze” as the train approached and would be “dead” if it weren’t for the older youth pulling him off the track.

“They were both nearly killed and that would have destroyed so many lives … I realised how deadly these tracks are,” he said.

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Irish Rail has released a video showing a series of near-misses after people crossed the railway tracks or were sitting on the edge of the platform with their legs dangling over the tracks. The safety campaign warns people not to cross the tracks for shortcuts, not to cycle along platforms and to stand back from the platform’s edge.

Learning to cross the road safely is one of the most important lessons young children can learn, but “rail safety is just as important”, Dempsey said.

“We all hang around different places when we are young, but there are much better places than the train station or the train tracks,” he said.

Dart driver Aidan Martin warned that the tracks can be “slippy and unstable” and urged people to remain behind the yellow line on platforms. He described experiencing “heart-stopping” moments as a driver when people walked in front of or behind trains.

“It only takes a moment to make the wrong decision and everyone’s life can change in that moment,” he said.