For the branch line between Gortatlea and Castleisland in Kerry County, the GSWR had two vehicles built in Inchicore in 1890, which can be described as precursors to the steam railcar. Since commercial traffic with regular passenger trains could hardly be carried out on the line, an extra light tank locomotive was combined with a passenger compartment. However, according to Locomotive Magazine, issue May 1903, the passenger compartments were not actually used for their intended purpose.

Later the locomotives were moved to the Fermoy-Mitchelstown line in Cork County, which used a very light rail profile, only 50 pounds per yard. While no heavier locomotives could be used there, the axle load of the two vehicles was low enough. Here they had to conquer gradients of 1 in 60. The passenger compartments were soon removed, allowing the locomotives to be used as conventional tank locomotives. They spent the last years of their service as shunting locomotives in the port of Cork.

In 2005, Irish Rail ordered a new type of diesel multiple units for intercity service that was designated class 22000. Their official name is “Intercity Railcar” and they were built to replace loco-hauled trains. They were designed by the Japanese Mitsui group, but only the bogies were built in Japan by Tokyu Car and the rest came from Hyundai Rotem of South Korea.

Each set originally consisted of three to five cars. Each one has a 483 hp MTU diesel engine mated to a Voith hydrodynamic transmission, powering both axles of one bogie. This allows for a top speed of 100 mph or 161 km/h. After 63 units had been delivered by 2011, a new order for three additional sets and 41 intermediate cars had been announced in 2018. These additional cars were used to lengthen the sets, some to six cars. Meanwhile, the existing sets were refurbished in the interior with emphasis on easier maintenance and cleaning.

To replace the Class 80 diesel-electric multiple units of the seventies, Northern Ireland Railways ordered 23 three-car diesel-mechanical multiple units from CAF in Spain in 2002. They come from the family which CAF calls the CxK and were delivered to the Irish Railways back in 2002 as Class 29000. At a total cost of £80 million, this was the largest order NIR had ever placed.

The trains, known only as C3K for short, have a six-cylinder from MAN with 460 hp per car, which drives both axles of a bogie. The first six sets are equipped with the Irish train protection system CAWS in order to be able to serve international routes. They were supplemented from 2011 by the Class 4000 from the same family by CAF and modernized from 2018.

The MPV is a single vehicle built for Northern Ireland Railways for use in departmental services. It is based on the Windhoff CargoSprinter, but has two cabs and is usually used without any trailers. Like the CargoSprinter, it is powered by two diesel engines which are driving one axle each. Its payload often contains modules for dispensing sandite or with high pressure water jets. The modules can also be swapped for other tasks like weed spraying or tree cutting.