A touch of luxury seeing Ireland by rail

From gorgeous landscapes to exquisite hospitality, there’s much to recommend a luxury tour by train, writes Rita de Brún.

Strangers on a train. That’s how we were when we first set out together; a group of two dozen or more early travellers, comprised of couples, singles, and a few small groups.

Having risen that morning to the dawn chorus, so as to board the attractively refurbished Enterprise Express train at Dublin’s Connolly Station en route to Belfast, some of us were sleepy-headed to begin. But we speedily perked up, as no sooner had we taken our comfortable seats, plugged in our technology, and begun reading our newspapers, than breakfast was served.

The journey, not the arrival, matters. So said 16th century French philosopher, Michel de Montaigne, in one of his esays. I thought how right he was, as we voyaged along in our first-class carriage, on a meandering tour across 14 counties and three of the four provinces of Ireland.

One highlight of our trip to Donegal included an interesting guided tour of Belfast, with stops on the Falls and Shankill Roads to peruse the landmarks and murals that mark the indelible history of this proud city.

The fact that our guide was the natural story-teller, proud Irishman and affable host that is Jim Deegan of Railtours Ireland First Class, played a core role in the quality and enjoyment of the tour.

On one Belfast memorial wall that included peace messages from Bill Clinton and the Dali Lama, some of us scrawled our own posts, in tiny writing, for no good reason other than that we wanted to.

Another thought-provoking highlight of the tour was a stop at Titanic Belfast The Titanic Centre which is situated on the site of the former Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

We took a fairly futuristic-looking ride there, and enjoyed the anecdotes passionately told by helpful, friendly crew: Who knew that while the Titanic shipworkers wore soft caps while hammering all day long, their supervisors wore top hats to protect their heads from the falling rivets that sometimes ‘accidentally’ fell on them from great heights? And who knew that when a plane filled with American visitors flew over the shipyard and saw the enormous H & W sign above it, they, charmingly it must be said, believed those initials stood for Hello and Welcome.

Those few laughs we had carried us through the impossible-to-forget film and video footage that followed, and the wall-inscribed messages that illustrated the abject doom that descended on the crew and passengers of the RMS Titanic when it became clear that in less than 30 minutes it and they would sink in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early hours of April 15, 1912.

We took solace in the happy stories, such as those of Molly Brown and other passengers who somehow survived the sinking, and cheered ourselves up by trying on vintage Titanic-era coats, hats, and bonnets, and laughing at one another as we did.

We also visited the pretty village of Drumcliffe in Co Sligo where we visited WB Yeats’ final resting place, which is set in a quiet churchyard in the shadow of the geographical wonder that is Ben Bulben.

There, we pondered the meaning of the epitaph Yeats penned for himself, and remembered the controversy that centres on the fact that the remains encased in the coffin below his tombstone may be those of someone other than the great Irish poet himself.

When we first set out on that Railtours Ireland trip together, most of our party were strangers to one another. But as we swapped trains for coaches and journeyed along leafy lanes, past fields of pink-daubed sheep, leaping lambs, and grass-chewing cows, we got to talking politics, religion, blogging, and travel together; the topics of future plans and past mistakes having long since been taken out, shared and aired.

We quietened as flashes of lake glimmered through evening sun-dappled branches, marking our arrival at the majestic landscape that surrounds Harvey’s Point hotel.

There, even the birds were welcoming, their chirpy songs the cheerful soundtrack to which we drove through the hotel gates, in jubilant contrast to the haunting sound of bagpipes that filled the Donegal air.

We got off the coach to an unforgettable sight. Husband and wife hotel owners Deirdre McGlone and Marc Gysling were outside. Beside them their immaculately uniformed team had formed a line, Downton Abbey style. I thought Barack Obama might be there, but the welcome reception was just for us.

As for Harvey’s Point, you could circumnavigate the globe, but you’d be hard-pressed to discover a more delightful place. Mr McGlone’s warm Donegal hospitality knits well with Ms Gysling’s Swiss efficiency.

They have forged a top-notch hotel by the Blue Stack Mountains with the help of an excellent team. Their wonderfully personable general manager is well-known television personality, Noel Cunningham. Their marketing guru is Sheila Russell, a gentle lady whose formidable skills attract visitors from Ireland and across the world.

The accommodation is palatial. Don’t be surprised if the distance between your bedroom door and the bay window across the floor is longer than a cricket pitch, or if your circular bath tub ensuite, is larger than many a hotel room.

Interesting books add a quirky touch.

Our bedroom bookcase contained an eclectic selection that included The Criminal Law Review 1969, Legends of Greece and Rome, A Little Place in the Country and something on surrealism.

Little reading was done, as we flocked to the restaurant, where vegans and omnivores alike dined like emperors then raised a glass to celebrate the tour that would take us across 14 counties in three out of the four provinces of Ireland.

As we clinked, there was no trace of the lone bagpiper, but as a mute swan flew low and fast across the glistening and gleaming water, I fancied I heard his notes carrying far and wide across the wide expanse of Lough Eske.

www.railtoursireland.comwww.titanicbelfast.comwww.harveyspoint.com

Prices for The Hills of Donegal via Belfast/Titanic, and the Derry three-day Railtours Ireland First Class tour, start at €899/person sharing.