Significant damage to train at Athlone station

Irish Rail has confirmed that six windows of a train were sprayed with graffiti in a weekend incident at Athlone station.

A spokesperson for Irish Rail said that gardaí are currently investigating the incident in which one train set was impacted by the incident.

"We can confirm that six windows of one train set were sprayed with graffiti in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Gardaí in Athlone are investigating and we are assisting them with their inquiries with CCTV," the Irish Rail spokesperson said.

Whilst the train was needed for an early Monday morning service, the Irish Rail spokesperson said it has "since been taken out of service".

The Irish Rail spokesperson has pleaded with the public "not to engage in this type of criminal vandalism".

A similar incident occurred at Athlone Station in March of this year when spraypainted graffiti caused 'significant damage' to three carriages of a train.

The Irish Rail spokesperson confirmed in relation to the March incident that one suspect was arrested and detained for questioning and a file is currently with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

"A second suspect has now been identified and investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson added.