Dublin to Ennis - Quickest route ?

ondafly

Hi Folks - I have to head to Ennis, I normally take the M7/N7 however now that the Galway M6 route is complete - would I be quicker heading as far as Loughrea and than to Gort > Ennis ?

hinault

ondafly wrote: »

Hi Folks - I have to head to Ennis, I normally take the M7/N7 however now that the Galway M6 route is complete - would I be quicker heading as far as Loughrea and than to Gort > Ennis ?

Dublin-Limerick.

Limerick-Ennis.

You do it in 3.5hrs.

L1011

Depends where in Dublin you're coming from. From West Dublin I've found M6 to Loughrea, N66 to Gort and N18 from there to be quicker. But part of that is because it'd take me 20 minutes to get to the M7 vs. the M4 being behind my house.

Depends very much on time too - until the Shunnel opens you could be caught for an age in Limerick; but similarly the N66 can tail back in to Gort.

veryangryman

hinault wrote: »

Dublin-Limerick.

Limerick-Ennis.

You do it in 3.5hrs.

Can easily get to Loughrea in under 2 hours via M6. Then less than an hour to Ennis.

N7 and Limerick = pain in the hole to drive through. Depending on time of day, it can take upwards of half hour to drive through city. Not to mention the other pains a la Mountrath etc.

Recall that Motorway/DC on N7 is only half the journey. With the M6 its more like 2/3 if not more

richardjjd

We do this every couple of weeks and we've been taking the route described by MYOB since the M6 opened - its taken 30 minutes or so off the journey (3 hrs vs. 3 1/2 hrs) for us.

Part of the reason is that we're on the n3 so the n4 is closer than the n7, but not that much.

Expect to be back on the n/m7 by the end of the year when it'll be dual carriageway / motorway from Blanchardstown to the far side of Ennis.

ondafly

Thanks everyone - I took MYOB's route and it was alot quicker, only the road between Loughrea/Gort was a bit hairy, but the amount of time saved was worth it !

mysterious

How much time difference did it make?

The Nenagh to Birdhill section is opening next week. I think? This will knock about 10mins. The rest of the N7 wont open till october. The Nenagh to Monegal section will be a big time saver if they opened that phrase in summer.

Tragedy

I do South Dublin to Childers road in about 2hours 15 - 2 hours 30mins. WIth really good traffic, that's down to 2 hours.

Will be doing Dublin to Ennis tomorrow afternoon via M7, we'll see! :pac:

munchkin_utd

ondafly wrote: »

Thanks everyone - I took MYOB's route and it was alot quicker, only the road between Loughrea/Gort was a bit hairy, but the amount of time saved was worth it !

Hairy in what way?
Is the surface damaged from the recent bad weather or are you just not used to country roads?
I took this road a couple of times over the summer and didn't find it all that bad.

Then again, coming off motorway straight onto ithe Loghrea/ Gort road (coming from Dublin) would be big shock to the system and make it seem worse that it really is, compared to hitting the road at Gort after accustomising to slow bendy roads on the old section of the N18 south of Gort.

ondafly

mysterious wrote: »

How much time difference did it make?

I saved 30 minutes off the journey, although its a longer distance and obviously 2 toll roads.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Hairy in what way?
Is the surface damaged from the recent bad weather or are you just not used to country roads?
I took this road a couple of times over the summer and didn't find it all that bad.

I'm well aware of what a bad road is and I've driven on some shockers - I had never driven this particular road before, but to give you an idea - the car in front was a Land Cruiser and he was driving in the middle of the road trying to avoid the craters. I suspect the snow/ice from last month is the reason its in a state.

Tragedy

Dublin 16 -> Dock Road in Limerick = 2 hours 15mins leaving Dublin at 3pm on Tuesday
Dock road -> Ennis = 25 mins leaving Limerick at 6:50pm.

cynder

If it is rush hour then go through killaloe. you skip limerick that way.

horse7

any updates on this subject, ie dublin to ennis using m6 or m7.(blanchardstown m50).what cost are the tolls ,and is there a basket pay etc.

horse7

any updates on this subject, ie dublin to ennis using m6 or m7.(blanchardstown m50).what cost are the tolls ,and is there a basket pay etc.how about fuel stop and coffee/toilet.

lottpaul

Don't know about the M6 route etc but the M7 is now much better. From Newlands X to Limerick is now about 1hr 45 - excellent road - then take the Limerick/Shannon Tunnel and Ennis is about 25 mins max after that. Great road all the way. 2 tolls - one just past Portlaoise - €1.80 and then the Tunnel itself - also €1.80. Both tolls have manned booths and usually have an exact-change basket type lane too but I've never been delayed at either of them.
There are no service stations at all - you would have to come off the motorways and none of the bypassed towns - Mountrath, Nenagh, Birdhill etc are very close. Ironically the only place that is very close is a certain little village called Moneygall - junction 23 - but don't go there tomorrow

Victor

Possibly avoid the M7 on Monday becuase of the Obama visit.

lottpaul

Victor wrote: »

Possibly avoid the M7 on Monday becuase of the Obama visit.

Yes - M7 closed on the afternoon of Monday 23rd between Roscrea and Nenagh junctions. The alternative routes are very long. Not worth the bother.

horse7

thanks.