Some sports fans and day-trippers may be left facing disruption in different areas of the country this bank holiday weekend, with the Dublin Marathon and various works on Irish Rail lines taking place.
The marathon, in the 45th year of its running, will lead to a slew of road closures and bus diversions. They will begin on Friday at Merrion Square South where the marathon ends. Some 22,500 people are expected to take part in the race, with many spectators expected along the route.
Leeson Street Lower, Merrion Square South, Mount Street Crescent, Merrion Square East, Fitzwilliam Street and other parts of southside city centre will also be subject to staggered closures over the weekend.
When the start of the race itself approaches, the disruption will become more widespread. The marathon will begin at 8.40am with the wheelchair/cerebral palsy competitors and there will be staggered starts until 9.45am.
Dozens of roads along the route will be closed from 3.30am on Sunday morning to 5.30pm on Sunday evening.
From staging areas in the city centre, competitors will run down Cuffe Street before turning past St Patrick’s Cathedral, up High Street and cross the river Liffey at the Four Courts.
The route then heads through the length of the Phoenix Park and back along its southern wall before heading east along Inchicore Road.
It will pass along part of the South Circular Road and the Crumlin Road, through Bushy Park and along through Milltown. After circling University College Dublin, it will return to town up Stillorgan Road, Merrion Road and Northumberland Road before finishing back at Merrion Square.
Irish Rail will run early trains for those competing in the racewith additional services from Dundalk (6am), Kildare (6.25am), Maynooth (6.50am) and Malahide (7am).
Dublin Bus has also announced a swathe of diversions which come into force from Friday morning to Sunday evening.
The routes that will be disrupted by the closure of Merrion Square to traffic from Friday morning are routes 15a, 15b, 19, 23 and 24.
Diversions begin on Sunday morning from 8am and will effect the following routes: 4, 7, 7a, 11, 11b, 13, 14, 15, 15a, 15b, 16, 19, 23, 24, 27, 37, 38, 38a, 39, 39a, 44, 47, 52, 56a, 60, 65, 65b, 68, 69, 70, 74, 77a, 80, 82, 99, 122, 150, 151.
The following bus corridor routes are also curtailed on Sunday, C1, C2, C3, C4, E1, E2, F1, F2, F3, the G1, G2 and the S2.
Meanwhile, some rail services have been cancelled over the weekend to allow for remedial works on different routes. No Dart services will operate between Grand Canal Dock and Bray or between Howth Junction and Howth on Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
Lansdowne Road Station will be closed for spectators going to the Leinster v Munster game on Saturday evening but fans can make their way to Pearse Station after the final whistle to catch northbound Darts between 7.30pm and 9pm, serving all stops to Malahide.
Train services between Limerick city and Limerick Junction will be replaced by bus services on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as will services running between Limerick and Ennis.
Track improvement works will take place between Athlone and Ballinasloe on Saturday from 6pm for the remainder of the evening with bus transfers in place on Dublin-Galway services but these are expected to be lifted on Sunday and Monday.
Irish Rail spokesman Barry Kenny said bank holiday weekends “afford the opportunity for 76 hours of work (from last train Friday night until 4am Tuesday morning) for projects that require a greater scale of activity” than regular overnight operations allow for.
These larger scale works include improvements to infrastructure such as tracks, overhead wires and bridges and that while most works cause little alteration to services, “some disruption is unavoidable”, he said.
Also on Sunday, there will be a temporary partial closure on Luas Red Line, with no services operating between Heuston and Connolly/The Point from 8.45am to 10.45am to facilitate the marathon.
The Luas Green Line will operate as normal with its Dawson, St Stephen’s Green and Harcourt Street stops near the start and finishing line for the marathon.
The bank holiday will be an exceptionally busy time for Dublin Airport. The airport is expecting 469,000 people travelling during the weekend and the midterm school break. That is up 10,000 on last year.