How to Get Around Dublin's Road Network

If you're a first timer to Ireland, the first thing toto keep away traffic travelling on National Primary
be aware of is you drive on the left hand sideRoutes from the city, in essence a full bypass of
and the speed limit is in kilometres. Dublin's rapidDublin. However it is now an artery road for
development over the past ten years has greatlyDublin city, as it connects all of the suburbs
increased traffic volume. So if you're travelling bysurrounding the city. You'll see that all of the
car to the city, allow lots of additional time to getNational Primary Routes that exit Dublin have
into and around the centre of the city, especiallyjunctions with the M50. The primary routes are
on holiday weekends. We recommend thatthe N2 to Derry, N3 to Navan/Cavan and the
perhaps the best times to travel by car throughNorth West, N4 to Galway and the West of
the city are 10am to 2pm on weekdays and earlyIreland, N7/N8 to Cork, Limerick, Kerry and
morning or late evening at the weekends.Waterford and the N11 to Wexford and the south
Once a medieval city, Dublin wasn't designed toeast coast. There are also a number of extra
handle a large volume of traffic, and there hasjunctions along the motorway that serve Dublin
been a one-way system in operation for somesuburbs such as Tallaght, Ballymun, Cherrywood,
time now. Traffic jams are unfortunately a regularSantry, Sandyford, Finglas, Blanchardstown and
occurrence, however the last few years haveending at Shankhill.
motivated an expansion of infrastructure, andIts true to say that the majority of these
parking areas, have increased. Blue-and-white signsinterchanges suffer huge traffic conjestion. The
with a P direct you to parking areas.busy roundabout junctions are signal controlled,
If you plan on parking in metered spacesand this leads to major traffic chaos at peak
anywhere in the city, be prepared with 50 centstimes. The Red Cow Roundabout is a junction for
and 1 euro coins, depending on the amount oftwo of the busiest roads in Ireland!
time you wish to park. Do not illegally park, youYou may have heard that the M50 motorway
will be clamped. This will result in a long wait, aaround Dublin is currently being upgraded to
heavy fine and major inconvenience to your cityimprove traffic flow. The EUR1 billion investment is
visit! You can also use one of the city's parkingbeing managed by the National Roads Authority
garages, which charge varying rates starting atand the Dublin Local Authorities and is being
about 3 euros for an hour. However, take notice,created through three separate phases. Phase 1
many parking garages close before midnight.and Phase 3 are substantially completed, and
Motorways Around Dublin - What to know...phase 2 is due to be finished in 2010. When
In short, there are four main motorways aroundcompleted the 31Km M50 Upgrade will provide:
Dublin, and these are:3 lanes in each direction from the Sandyford
The M1 - from Whitehall suburb to Dublin Airport,Junction to the M1 junction.
and then to Belfast on the N1.Free flow traffic at the M1, N3, N4 and N7
The M50 - basically it's the Dublin city bypass orjunctions.
ring road, from the M1 junction through Ballymun,Partial free-flow at six additional junctions
Blanchardstown, Clondalkin, Tallaght, Ballinteer toAdditional fourth lanes linking successive junctions
Shankill. The toll bridge after the Blanchardstownon the M30
exit has a EUR1.80 fee. It can be extremely busyProvision of barrier free tolling - this eas
in the mornings and evenings with commuter andindroduced at midnight on he 31st August.
school traffic, so avoid this route at these times,It's important to monitor developments to the
if at all possible.M50 motorway, and such updates are
The M 11 - this travels from Shankill to part ofcontinuously provided.
County Wicklow, this route will then take you toOther roads around Dublin...
County Wexford.There are a number of other roads that link the
The M7 - this contains the Limerick/CorkDublin Area, aside from the ones mentioned
Waterford roads to Dublin. It stops just after theabove, and they are as follows:
Dublin/Kildare border, and is renamed thereafterN2 - This road links Dublin to Derry.
the N7 and N8 dual carriageway to Limerick andN3 - Dublin to Cavan Road, and after Enniskillen
Cork.(A46), when re-travelling across the border it
Other roads going into Dublin are the N6 and N4reaches to County Donegal.
from Galway and the West of Ireland.N31 - Connects Dublin to the sea-port of Dun
Approximate driving times to Dublin:Laoghaire and also joins the N11 to reach
Belfast to Dublin - 2 hours 45 minutesWexford.
Galway to Dublin - 3 hours 30 minutesN32 - a short primary route that joins the
Cork to Dublin - 4 hours 15 minutesMalahide Road from the M50 at the Dublin Airport
Limerick to Dublin - 3 hours.Junction.
The M50...N4 - Runs from Dublin to the North West of
The M50 is essentially a motorway and NationalIreland and Sligo
Primary Route (N50) that runs for approximatelyN81 - Dublin to Carlow Road
31km in a C-shaped ring circling the northern,N82 - This is actually the shortest national
north eastern, western and southern sides ofsecondary road in Ireland. It runs between the
Dublin City. The access to the motorway fromN81 at Tallaght and Junction 3 at the City West
the Northern Route is via the entrance to theInterchange of the N7.
Dublin Port Tunnel, which was officially opened inThere are a number of regional roads from Dublin
January 2007 to car traffic. In an anti-clockwiseto other regional locations in Ireland; amongst
direction the road heads northwest through thethem are the R108, R103, R113, R115, R116, R117,
tunnel and veers west at the M1 MotorwayR132, R135, R136, R148, and R156.
junction. The road traverses the double West LinkEssentially the greater Dublin area is a suburban
toll bridges that cross the River Liffey to thesprawl which encompasses an area of several
extreme west of Dublin, and it forms a loopkilometres. The city centre stretches from Parnell
around the south east of Dublin, to join the M11Square to the north of the city, and the Saint
route (which runs south to Wexford) at theStephens' Green to the south, with the River
seaside town of Bray, in County Wicklow.Liffey dividing it into Northside and Southside.
The initial idea regarding the M50 was that it was