Cork to Letterkenny

ianobrien

First, if this is in the wrong section, MODs please move it. (The Commuting & Transport Forum seems to cater for public transport)

I'm travelling from Cork City to Letterkenny via car and I'm wondering as to which route to take. I'm now just wondering as the M8 is now complete(ish)

Option 1 (my usual route) - Cork, Limerick, Galway, Sligo, Donegal Town, Letterkenny. Usually takes me 6.5 hours, allowing for stops...

Option 2 - Cork, Dublin via M8, M50, M1 to Newry, Armagh, Omagh, Strabane, Letterkenny

Option 3 - Cork, Dublin via M8, M50, N2 to Ashbourne, Carrickmacross, Monahan Omagh and as above

Option 4 - Cork, Dublin via M8, M50, N3 to Navan, Kells, Cavan, Enniskillen, Ballyshannon, Donegal Town, Letterkenny

Option 5 (Drive in a straight line) - Cork, Michelstown, Thurlas, Roscrea, Birr, Athlone, Roscommon, Boyle, Sligo, Donegal Town Letterkenny.

Can I get your recommendations and other route ideas (I need my car up there). I'm planning to leave Cork at 7ish in the evening, arriving in time for a late one at the bar.....

R.O.R

Definately the M8 to Dublin - don't know the best route from there, but you'd be mad to even consider going Limerick anymore.

langdang

Ya, avoid Cork-Limerick, it's a cattle track.

largepants

I travel up that direction (Ballybofey) two or three times a year and I've nearly always taken the Limerick Galway route. I have travelled the N8 to Thurles and on that way the odd time too. Not much difference to be honest. But considering the fact that we have the new M8 I'll prob be taking that route from here on in. However since I'd be going to Ballybofey I'd be taking the N4.

Its a long spin but I'd imagine a striaght drive would take you circa 5.5 hrs. You'd struggle to get there for last call to be honest.

marc1

I drive to Ballybofey once month. I would suggest M8 to Dublin - M50 - M1 but take the Ardee exit and go N2 / A5 (it is decent all the way to Letterkenny). My suggestion:

M8 to Dublin,
M50
M1 to Ardee
Monaghan
Omagh
Stabane
Letterkenny

Dublin to Letterkenny should be just over 3 hours. Cork Dublin around 2?

(My record from south Dublin via M50 to Ballybofey was 2:45 :-) )

roosterman71

Why are people suggesting you drive from Cork to Dublin and then to Letterkenny? Is it purely for the motorway? I mean, Cork to Letterkenny is up the west of the country. No need to zig zag across it. Option 1 would be the route I took. More interesting drive than been stuck on a motorway half the day. Since your leaving at 7ish, your not going to be too hammered by traffic anywhere.

peasant

ianobrien wrote: »

Enniskillen, Ballyshannon

That's the bit you definitely don't want to do ...its a small, windy road. Lovely drive when you have good weather and time on your hands, but a right pain when you want to actually get somewhere and downright dangerous when it's dark.

roosterman71 wrote: »

Why are people suggesting you drive from Cork to Dublin and then to Letterkenny? Is it purely for the motorway? I mean, Cork to Letterkenny is up the west of the country. No need to zig zag across it.

Bacause the "infrastructure" along the wesht is the pits. The bit Galway-Sligo alone is enough to make you want to give up driving forever (especially if you meet a few tractors/trucks/ditzi aul Biddies on the way)

.Longshanks.

marc1 wrote: »

I drive to Ballybofey once month. I would suggest M8 to Dublin - M50 - M1 but take the Ardee exit and go N2 / A5 (it is decent all the way to Letterkenny). My suggestion:

M8 to Dublin,
M50
M1 to Ardee
Monaghan
Omagh
Stabane
Letterkenny

Dublin to Letterkenny should be just over 3 hours. Cork Dublin around 2?

(My record from south Dublin via M50 to Ballybofey was 2:45 :-) )

Yep, I be in Donegal once every 4 - 6 weeks and I go that way toward Buncrana from Kildare. Ardee to Naas to Cork is almost totally Motorway now too (except for the 3 lanes on the N7).

Tolls at Drogheda, M50, south of Portlaoise and again closer to Cork

rubensni

The toll on the M50 and two tolls on the M8 will come to €6.60 (unless you have a tag, and that will only save you a euro).

All it will save you is 30 minutes travelling time over the Limerick/Galway/Sligo road.

Hardly worth the money; unless you're mad for liquor! :pac:

.Longshanks.

rubensni wrote: »

The toll on the M50 and two tolls on the M8 will come to €6.60 (unless you have a tag, and that will only save you a euro).

All it will save you is 30 minutes travelling time over the Limerick/Galway/Sligo road.

Hardly worth the money; unless you're mad for liquor! :pac:

+ the €1.90 at Drogehda

But I would definitely pay that and more just to keep away from aul Biddies and tractors. You could easily loose another extra half hour being stuck in just one of the numerous wee towns on route.
Even in rush hour traffic, the M50 moves relatively good now (except when a horse is on the loose!)

-Corkie-

rubensni wrote: »

The toll on the M50 and two tolls on the M8 will come to €6.60 (unless you have a tag, and that will only save you a euro).

All it will save you is 30 minutes travelling time over the Limerick/Galway/Sligo road.

Hardly worth the money; unless you're mad for liquor! :pac:

I was going to say the same:D.. I travel from the Killarney side of mallow to longford sometimes and always went limerick nenagh athlone. Im thinking of the m8 now. Option 4 would be great but as peasant said the enniskillen to ballyshannon stretch is lethal..

Henry Ford III

Maybe I'm being a little simplistic here, but Donegal is nearly due North from Cork/Limerick, and the M50 120 miles further east from Limerick.

Doesn't that mean you'd be travelling and extra 240 miles by going that way?

.Longshanks.

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Maybe I'm being a little simplistic here, but Donegal is nearly due North from Cork/Limerick, and the M50 120 miles further east from Limerick.

Doesn't that mean you'd be travelling and extra 240 miles by going that way?

From the AA

Automatic route provided via Dublin

From: Cork, Cork
To: Letterkenny, Donegal
Distance: 495.84 km (Show in Miles)
Time: 6 hr 15 min

From: Cork, Cork
To: Letterkenny, Donegal
Via: Limerick
Time: 6 hr 30 min
Total Distance (Km): 439.37

Via Dublin is 320km of motorway from cork to ardee (except 3 lane on N7 from Naas to Dublin). Road from Ardee to Aughnacloy (spelling?) is great too. The first town you will have to go through from cork is emmyvale in Monaghan. Everything else is now bypassed.
A2 through the North is ok but its only another hour to letterkenny

Amtmann

Out of curiosity, how about:

M8 Cork to Portlaoise
N80/N52 Portlaoise-Tullamore-M6 junction 5
M6 eastbound to junction 4 (N52)
N52 to Mullingar
M4 to Sligo to Letterkenny via N15 and N13

Quite a few route numbers to remember, but I'd be interested to see how long it would take.

.Longshanks.

Furet wrote: »

Out of curiosity, how about:

M8 Cork to Portlaoise
N80/N52 Portlaoise-Tullamore-M6 junction 5
M6 eastbound to junction 4 (N52)
N52 to Mullingar
M4 to Sligo to Letterkenny via N15 and N13

Quite a few route numbers to remember, but I'd be interested to see how long it would take.

But how many of those towns are bypassed? I haven't a clue
It makes all the difference

bigtimecharlie

I bet the fuel economy on the motorway sections may sway the route compared to stop/start on regular non-motorway sections. You may travel further but take less time and use less fuel.

Ring the pub and put the pint's on order, it's ready as you walk in the door (did this before and the look on everyone's face was priceless).

Henry Ford III

I thought that high speed fuel economy on motorways was actually pretty poor.

ianobrien

Thanks for the suggestions. I never thought of the MI to Ardee, and then Monaghan, Omagh, Strabane. I'm probably going to try it.

I've always traveled the Cork - Limerick - Galway - Sligo route, but from Galway north is just a pain. I always seem to bet stuck behind some biddy around Tubbercurry and from Sligo to Donegal town. I find driving on Motorways more relaxing than N roads behind some biddy

Some of my mates did the "usual" route today and it took 6 hours. Others are going tomorrow morning via Dublin. I'll report back with the results.

Max_Damage

I travel to Letterkenny quite alot, and I'd go with option 4 (the N3 route). The drive though Donegal is quite scenic.

high horse

Does anyone know when the tunnel in Limerick will be open? It should cut a significant amount of time off your journey.

I travel Sligo to Cork regularly and journey times are very dependent on time of day. Leaving Sligo at 9pm on a Friday it will take 4 hours +/- 10 minutes to get to Cork but the same journey will take 3.5 hours if I leave at 11pm. The return journey on a monday morning has taken anything from 4 hours 10 minutes to 6 hours.

Don't forget the roadworks in Gort at the moment are causing long delays at peak times

danjo

Just for the record - you do not actually go through Ardee.
When you come off the M1 you go through a few roundabouts (4 ?) and you bypass Ardee following the signs for Derry. As an earlier poster said the first town you pass through is Emyvale.

kevodaly

I travel from Waterford to Letterkenny quite often.

I go through Dublin too - motorway driving is far less tiring than going trough the middle of the country.
From Dublin - sometimes I go to Newry, Armagh and then Omagh - just for a change of scenery to the N2. There's no major difference in time.

With the recent opening of the M9 - the journey is taking around 4.5 hours.

So I'm guessing that it might take an hour longer to get from Cork to Dublin ..so 5.5 hours in total

langdang

roosterman71 wrote: »

Why are people suggesting you drive from Cork to Dublin and then to Letterkenny? Is it purely for the motorway? I mean, Cork to Letterkenny is up the west of the country. No need to zig zag across it. Option 1 would be the route I took. More interesting drive than been stuck on a motorway half the day. Since your leaving at 7ish, your not going to be too hammered by traffic anywhere.

Farms are very busy at the moment, contractors are working into the night (down home anyway) - I can think of better ways to spend my time than stuck behind a massive trailer on a windy 2 lane road. Motorway or dual carriageway if you actually want to get places over the next while. I was interpreting the OPs post as advice on how to leave Cork at 7pm and get a pint in in Letterkenny - not advice on scenic routes or interesting drives.

Cork Limerick road is a cattle track with an average speed of about 45mph point to point, with minimal tractor traffic. Ennis to Galway is worse.

Limerick tunnel is open in September I think, but traffic thru Limerick after 7pm wouldn't be an issue unless there was a match on

marc1

Trust me, going off the M1 at Ardee and you bypass everything, there is not one town/village you have to go through.

As I said I traveled to Dongel once or twice a month for the last 4 years and it is the quickest, I have tried everything else!

Sure it will cost you a few Euros extra, but it certainly won't take 6 hours.

Let us know how you got on!

ianobrien

Lads,

Just to let you all know. I'm now having my pint, having left Cork at 17:30ish.

I went Cork - Dublin - M1 to Ardee - N2 through Monaghan - A5 to Omagh and Strabane. Then to Lifford and on to Letterkenny, arriving at 22:15 and burning half a tank of juice.

I'll be going that way again