28 Aug 2015
Posted by Sharron Lynskey 
Irish rugby fans are gearing up for Saturday’s Guinness Summer Series showdown against Wales. As well as ironing your jersey and practising your chants, planning your journey is key if you’re looking to have a stress-free and enjoyable day out.
Kick-off for the game is at 2:30pm and on that same day, two demonstrations are set to take place in Dublin’s City Centre. These are likely to cause some disruption to traffic heading to and from the Aviva on Saturday.
Rolling road closures will be implemented on both the North and South Quays and on Amiens St. and O’Connell St will also be closed to through traffic from 2pm until approx 5pm both ways between The North Quays and Henry St jct.
Gardai are advising motorists travelling to the game in the Aviva Stadium from the north of the city to avoid city centre delays by using the Port Tunnel (Toll Rd) and East Wall Rd before turning right onto North Wall Quay and over Samuel Beckett Bridge. From the bridge, you will travel onto Macken St and take a left onto Grand Canal St before continuing on that road towards the Aviva Stadium.
Of course, if you want to avoid a ‘heavy-traffic headache’ you can always use public transport. Luckily, the stadium is well served by both rail and bus.
The handiest way to travel directly to the grounds is to take the DART. The line actually runs under the West side of the stadium and stops at Lansdowne Rd Station itself. From the city centre, match-goers can take the DART southbound from Pearse Station on Westland Row, Tara St Station or Connolly Station.
The DART also serves a number of northside and southside areas. For a full list of stations, you can check out the map below:
The Aviva Stadium is also within reasonable walking distance from the Green and Red Luas lines. If you’re using the Red Line, you can disembark at The Point, which is within a 25min walk from the grounds. On the Green Line, your best bet is to get off the Luas at Charlemont and walk along the Canal to get to the Aviva. That walk should take you less than 30mins.
If you prefer to travel by bus, routes 4, 7 and 8 serve Ballsbridge from the city centre. If you are getting a bus from the city centre, bear in mind that Dublin Bus will be operating with some diversions from approx. 1pm until the end of the protest. For full details of the services affected, you can click here. Remember that if you are getting the bus, allow yourself plenty of time as heavy delays are likely.
Main Image Credit: Peter Mooney. Used under CC license.
