killarney to cork commute

kman4

I'm thinking of taking a job in cork city but don't want to move there, rather stay in killarney.

Just wondering if anybody is doing the commute (bus or car, i know train times wouldnt suit a 9 to 5 job), and how they find it?

Appreciate any answers

Know a few who commute from Kerry to Cork City and find it pretty tiring. Roadworks seem to be continuous, Ballyvourney, the western end of the Ring Road, Macroom etc. etc.

dmeehan

I used to work in Cork and the commute was about 90mins each way. Very tiring and the traffic in Cork City was very variable. Some days could add an extra 30 ins to the journey for no apparent reason.

Of course where in Cork is a big difference, I had to go as far as Pairc Ui Chaoimh but if you are working on the Western edge of the city (Bishopstown etc) that could chop up to another 30 mins off your commute each way.

Also bear in mind that it is 90km each way, 180 a day, 900 a week and factor this in to what it will do to your car!

kman4

Thanks for the info. It would be near the bus station in the city so would have to travel in there every day

If the macroom bypass was ever built it would prob make it a lot easier commute. I wonder would the speed restrictions being lifted on rail lines in the new year make any difference to the killarney cork train

siblers

Price of fuel would be pretty pricey too, you'd probably be paying more on fuel than on rent. Used to do it once a week for a night class I was doing, was a pain back then and I couldnt imagine doing it full-time.

SeaFields

kman4 wrote: »

Thanks for the info. It would be near the bus station in the city so would have to travel in there every day

If the macroom bypass was ever built it would prob make it a lot easier commute. I wonder would the speed restrictions being lifted on rail lines in the new year make any difference to the killarney cork train

You know that you can slip around macroom, round the back of the town, and come back out by the bridge? Would save a good deal of time at that time of day. Although you might be better commuting via mallow. That route would bring you right into the city centre and there are a few car parks along the way.

You must also factor in parking. Paying for that will cost a few quid, plus getting your car to the car park and back over to work will take time. The city moves at a snails pace at that time of the morning.

Barrell

Working in cork, just wondering if anyone is interested in carpooling the commute from Killarney to cork?

starlit

There is a 60 speed zone streched near macroom until county bounds is 80 unless has changed. Its fair trek. Bus roughly hr and a half. Traffic can be a bottleneck in macroom. Bus take you right into bus station.

To drive be roughly an hour and a bit depends what part of cork city you go. Mallow take longer than via macroom. Easier to get to city from mallow side than macroom side.

gobnaitolunacy

Have done it a few times, it's an awful dose if you get stuck behind a truck or tractors around ballyvourney.

Re train is do-able, you can snooze which is a plus, but you'd have to nip out of work a few mins early to get a handy one back or else you might not be back in killarney until all hours.

starlit

Ya tractors or slow traffic be a scorn. Train be handy though despite times. You could stay one night in cork maybe?

RiderOnTheStorm

havnt done the drive from Killarney to Cork, but drove from Ballybunion to Limerick every (working) day for 12 years , and that was 80k each way (about an 60 / 75 mins - depending on traffic) and I can honestly say there was not 1 day that facing that drive put me off going to work (the work itself, bad traffic found along the way, and cattle / silage were a different story!). I really enjoyed the hour to myself in the morn, gave me a chance to plan the day, listen o the radio, etc. The hour on the way home gave me a chance to unwind. As for the strain on the car, well that wasnt much. 5th gear and steady 80kph meant I was still getting 45 mpg from a 10 year old petrol car.

The down side of a long commute is the cost of fuel, and the inability to nip home quickly if there was an emergency / change of plan / etc. Also, if there is some small thing that bothers you about the commute, it will be magnified as time goes on.

As one poster said, it does depend on where you are going in Cork (you said near the bus station) so you can add city driving on top of the rural dive.

Anyway, I enjoyed my long commute, but I was used to a work-commute of over an hour for most of my working life. If you havnt done a commute of this length (time-wise) then you would want to think long and hard ... well, thats what you are doing here, I guess :-)

Suggestions (if I may) .... is there any way you could stay overnight in Cork 1 night a week (friends / relatives)? This could break up the week nicely. Or, is there any chance that down the road (pardon the pun) you could push to work from home 1 or 2 days a week? This is not always possible (depending on the nature of the job) but in many office / clerical roles it is becoming very common.

Lastly: good luck with the job .... hope you find a solution that suits you :-)

SD1979

Thinking of doing this myself - commuting from Killarney to Cork. My prospective job is at EMC which seems a lot more manageable - right on the western outskirts of the city before Ballincollig - would you do this in an hour from Killarney? Never driven up in morning traffic so I'd imagine it gets fairly heavy heading into the city in the between 7 -9.
Barrell - if the job works out I might contact you about carpooling if you're still interested?

Boom__Boom

SD1979 wrote: »

Thinking of doing this myself - commuting from Killarney to Cork. My prospective job is at EMC which seems a lot more manageable - right on the western outskirts of the city before Ballincollig - would you do this in an hour from Killarney? Never driven up in morning traffic so I'd imagine it gets fairly heavy heading into the city in the between 7 -9.
Barrell - if the job works out I might contact you about carpooling if you're still interested?

I would say around the hour mark is a good estimate. A bit would depend on what traffic was like when you would be getting through Macroom in the morning plus where exactly in Killarney you were leaving from.

There was definitely a few lads from Killarney working in EMC itself and commuting up a few years back so it's possible that there could be someone interested in carpooling to EMC itself from Killarney.

Don't have any names/contact details as it was a friend of mine from Cork who was working there at the time and mentioned that there were lads commuting from Killarney. From what I can remember I think he said there were 4 of them who took it in turns. This was probably 3/4 years back so I'm not sure if they are still there but if/when you start it would definitely be worth investigating.

SD1979

Thanks for that - good to know!
Yeah, Macroom is a curse, and the stretch from Ballincollig to Macroom also...without those it'd be no bother at all... any plans to get rid of that awful stretch of road yet?? (Putting on my grumpy old man hat) It's a disgrace that the Ballincollig - Macroom road is still in that state and considered a national primary route!

embraer170

Ballincollig - Macroom has improved significantly in the last 5 years (better surface, some nasty bends cleared but no new overtaking opportunities). Plans for a new road went as far as route selection, then the crisis came along...

Barrell

SD1979 wrote: »

Thinking of doing this myself - commuting from Killarney to Cork. My prospective job is at EMC which seems a lot more manageable - right on the western outskirts of the city before Ballincollig - would you do this in an hour from Killarney? Never driven up in morning traffic so I'd imagine it gets fairly heavy heading into the city in the between 7 -9.
Barrell - if the job works out I might contact you about carpooling if you're still interested?

Ya I'd be interested, just get back to me when you know more and we'll try sort something out

podmu80

I've done the opposite commute, due to the nature off my job, i've often been on the road from killarney to cork in the morning. Certainly if you leave at 7 you can make EMC in an hour. not sure about any later but couldn't see it taking longer than 1hr 20m perhaps.

SD1979

Anyone doing / looking to do a carshare?? - I'll be travelling from Killarney to Ballincollig. Will have to be in the office in Ballincollig by 8:30am,