The driver of the Dublin-bound Enterprise passenger train was hit in the eye by flying glass last night after a brick was thrown through the locomotive window when the train was travelling at 70 m.p.h.
The incident happened at Kilbarrack in Dublin just after 8 p.m., The driver, Mr Stephen Glassey (23), from Belfast, managed to bring the train into the terminus despite considerable pain and a bleeding eye. He was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment.
"The Enterprise is one of the main attractions for kids who find themselves at a loose end at certain points on the line," Mr Glassey said after being discharged from hospital. He was due to drive the train on its return trip to Belfast but his injuries prevented this.
A spokesman for Iarnrod Eireann said the company deplored the incident and conceded that stone-throwing was a "real problem, particularly around school holiday time".
Everything possible was being done in co-operation with the Garda to stamp it out, he added. "But it's impossible to police every section of track. Every incident like this is reported immediately to the gardai and everything possible is being done to ensure the safety of both our staff and customers."
Parents should be aware of what their children were doing and know where they were, at any time, he warned, especially at holiday time. Stone-throwing has become something of an "occupational hazard" for the Enterprise on both sides of the Border, according to one passenger, who travels frequently on the line.
Each of the four £5 million hi-tech locomotives that serves the Belfast-Dublin route was now "pock-marked" on both sides, he said.