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Here are details of road closures around this weekend's Papal visit

Here are details of road closures around this weekend's Papal visit

There will be events in Dublin and in Knock this weekend around the visit of Pope Francis, and AA Roadwatch have outlined the traffic restrictions.

They have urged anyone travelling into Dublin at the weekend to take public transport as there will be no car park near Phoenix Park.

They have also warned anyone without a ticket for the events not to travel to Croke Park, Knock or the Phoenix Park.

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Arwen Foley of AA Roadwatch said: “Planning is key this weekend. Additional services will be made available across all public transport networks and we are strongly encouraging people to use them.

People attending the mass in Phoenix Park will be able to use free public transport in the Greater Dublin Area on Sunday by presenting their ticket.

However, those travelling from outside Dublin will need to organise their trip in advance, and pre-book tickets for travel.

However, Ms Foley said that a lot of services are already fully booked.

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She said: “The full length of the M50 and the M1 will be open as normal so once on the motorways, there will be no problem getting to Dublin Airport.

“The Port Tunnel and Tom Clarke Bridge (East Link) will also be open, so anyone wishing to travel between the north and south sides of the city is advised to use these routes."

Saturday - Croke Park

Gates open at 4pm and the concert will be on from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. There will be a number of road closures across the city from about midday, including O’Connell St, Church St, Patrick St and Dame St. However, some roads will be closed as early as 6am.

There will also be rolling restrictions on both Saturday and Sunday as Pope Francis visits a number of locations in Dublin city centre.

Sunday morning - Knock

The centre of Knock Village will be closed from 6pm on Saturday.

The N17 will also be closed from midnight on Saturday until at least 6pm on Sunday between Charlestown and Claremorris.

AA Roadwatch have said that there will be a considerable walk from the car parks for anyone travelling to the event and there will be no shuttle bus facility to the site.

Sunday afternoon - Phoenix Park

Ms Foley explained that Dublin Bus will have seven dedicated transport hubs throughout the city, but a long walk will follow.

“No matter how you plan on getting to the Phoenix Park, you are advised to be prepared for a long walk.”

The longest walk will be from Laurel Lodge to the park, a distance of about 4.4km.

She said: “That’s almost half the distance of the Women’s Mini Marathon, both on the way there and on the way back.”

“There will be manned rest areas and water available for those making the trek along each route though.”

A Controlled Access Zone will be in place from 6am.

She also explained that there will be specially created Park and Ride hubs at Leopardstown Racecourse, UCD Belfield and Maynooth University.

Most of the road closures in Dublin will be on Sunday as Pope Francis will be the main celebrant at the Final Mass in the Phoenix Park at 3pm.

Ms Foley said: “Major restrictions will be in place around the Phoenix Park, stretching many kilometres and also in the city centre.”

    Sunday transport restrictions in Dublin
  • The N3/Navan Rd, N4/Lucan Rd and N7/Naas Rd will be closed at the M50 Interchange from this time, with traffic sent either north or south onto the M50.
  • Southside closures start at Grand Canal, with the bridges along this artery closed from 8am.
  • Road closures and traffic restrictions apply to taxis as well as private vehicles.
  • Cyclists will also be stopped from entering the Controlled Access Zone when there is a lot of pedestrian traffic.
  • There will be no Luas Red Line services between Blackhorse and Smithfield from 7am until 10pm on Sunday.

There are currently no planned closures for Finglas Road, Ballymun Road or any major northside commuter routes further east, but there will be restrictions as you get closer to the city centre.

Full details on traffic and travel arrangements are available here

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