‘I always adored the fabric on the seats', says James Kavanagh on his Dart blazer
'Growing up in Dublin, I was always obsessed with the fabric of the seats on the Dart – I thought it was beautiful,' he said.
'Anyway, the VIP Style Awards were coming up and I thought, 'What am I going to wear?' So I had the idea of wearing a blazer – oversized.
'I wanted it to be almost verging on Balenciaga style – very structured, with big, padded shoulders.
'I emailed Irish Rail and asked if I could please have some fabric to make myself a blazer. They very kindly sent me some fabric – fresh fabric, I should add, that hadn't been sat on,' he added.
Ann Scully, now 90, was the woman who played an unexpected but iconic role in Irish transport history when she selected the original seat covering for the Dart in 1983.
Then working for the CEO of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), she was asked to choose from a table of fabric samples due to her 'good eye'.
She picked the now-famous green and orange pattern, describing it as 'nice' and 'very Irish'.
She saw her choice come to life on the Dart's inaugural journey in 1984 and was recently honoured by Irish Rail at a celebration marking the service's 40th anniversary.
At the event, she was presented with a bum bag made from the original Dart seat fabric from Irish Rail's current CEO, Jim Meade.
It was created by Upcycle Ireland, a group that repurposes old transport materials into new items.
James Kavanagh shared the story of how he sourced his Dart blazer on Instagram, and said when he got the fabric from Irish Rail, he appealed to his followers for a great tailor to help bring his vision to life.
'I was recommended to go to Johnson Tailor in Tullow, who have also made some things for President Michael D Higgins,' he said.
'I emailed them a video of the fabric and, with no hesitation, they jumped on it. Now, they did say a few needles broke because of how thick the fabric is,' he added.
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