Dublin to Galway, the old road.

veryangryman

magentis wrote: »

Jeysus.Have a cigarette or something.

Like the old road, its bad for ya.

TheRiverman

Haven't been on the old road in a long time.Is Mother Hubbard's still there ?

L1011

TheRiverman wrote: »

Haven't been on the old road in a long time.Is Mother Hubbard's still there ?

Moyvalley yes Oranmore no, although something else may be there instead

Doctors room ghost

L1011 wrote: »

Moyvalley yes Oranmore no, although something else may be there instead

No nothing else there.there was a pub in it and mother hubards but that's all empty now with a small crèche open in one part of it.has a fine car park.
The pub used to be called the green briar and changed to Sarah Harte.local rumour has it it's haunted

Grandeeod

magentis wrote: »

Jeysus.Have a cigarette or something.

It really wasn't that bad a post I made. It may come across as a rant, but I watched the John Creedon programme and thought it was dire and made way before the time it should've been made. You'd swear some of these towns have become forgotten wastelands because of the motorway, when they are still easily accessible if you want to stop off in them. We are only a very recent motorway nation (approx. 10 - 12 years). That is nothing. In terms of some towns on the "old" Galway road, most were places you wouldn't stop in anyway. From childhood to adulthood and the introduction of the M4/6 motorway my memories of stopping off along the way, were nowhere on the way to Galway and either Kinnegad or Clonard on the way back. Don't recall stopping off at Lockes distillery or a handball court either.:D

bobbyss

Grandeeod wrote:

It really wasn't that bad a post I made. It may come across as a rant, but I watched the John Creedon programme and thought it was dire and made way before the time it should've been made. You'd swear some of these towns have become forgotten wastelands because of the motorway, when they are still easily accessible if you want to stop off in them. We are only a very recent motorway nation (approx. 10 - 12 years). That is nothing. In terms of some towns on the "old" Galway road, most were places you wouldn't stop in anyway. From childhood to adulthood and the introduction of the M4/6 motorway my memories of stopping off along the way, were nowhere on the way to Galway and either Kinnegad or Clonard on the way back. Don't recall stopping off at Lockes distillery or a handball court either.

Harry's, Kinnegad, Lucan, Moate (Moate!), Loughrea. Burke's Bus, Ballinasloe, Rain, Tractors. Queues. Ah, the memories.

The M6 has changed lots of things. On a day trip to Athlone town recently I was interested to see what impact its bypass would have made. Hadn't been there in a long, long time. Walked around it for the first time really. They are putting down new paving on the main street. It felt like a ghost town I have to say. Very few people around. And this in high summer. The river is a great amenity but I thought something more could be done to have more eateries on the bank. It was a scorching day but few options to sit by the river.

Is that a fair depiction? How are Moate and Loughrea and other towns bypassed doing I wonder.

mfceiling

To be fair to the OP that Dublin to Galway motorway is the biggest boring bastard of a road to drive.

OldMrBrennan83

mfceiling wrote: »

To be fair to the OP that Dublin to Galway motorway is the biggest boring bastard of a road to drive.

Of all the jaunts in the country is the worst. So flat and barren.

Grandeeod

bobbyss wrote: »

Harry's, Kinnegad, Lucan, Moate (Moate!), Loughrea. Burke's Bus, Ballinasloe, Rain, Tractors. Queues. Ah, the memories.

The M6 has changed lots of things. On a day trip to Athlone town recently I was interested to see what impact its bypass would have made. Hadn't been there in a long, long time. Walked around it for the first time really. They are putting down new paving on the main street. It felt like a ghost town I have to say. Very few people around. And this in high summer. The river is a great amenity but I thought something more could be done to have more eateries on the bank. It was a scorching day but few options to sit by the river.

Is that a fair depiction? How are Moate and Loughrea and other towns bypassed doing I wonder.

Well Athlone has been bypassed for a long time now, before the motorway network was even planned. I was there in May and thought the place had improved a lot. Westside of the river, near the weir is like a mini Temple Bar. Bars, cafes etc, but your right, nothing in particular by the river itself.

As for Moate, holy ****! I remember stopping off there in the very early 80s because the place we went into in Athlone was too expensive. It was bad then and still bad now. Loughrea is an interesting one. It was always so drab. My memories of Loughrea as a child on the route, were a Dublin bound stop at a St Brigids shrine and a crappy crusty ham salad roll in a pub. Game of pool too. No idea what its like now as I used the the original bypass/ring road and now the M6. Craughwell was another dump on the journey.

veryangryman

bobbyss wrote: »

The M6 has changed lots of things. On a day trip to Athlone town recently I was interested to see what impact its bypass would have made. Hadn't been there in a long, long time. Walked around it for the first time really. They are putting down new paving on the main street. It felt like a ghost town I have to say. Very few people around. And this in high summer. The river is a great amenity but I thought something more could be done to have more eateries on the bank. It was a scorching day but few options to sit by the river..

Main street will be completed 1 way and wide footpaths by end of year. Probably a bad time to visit as people avoiding it during construction...currenly takes an age to get into town. Not related to the bypass anyway. Next summer the town will be hopping.

Big Dickhead

Great old spot a lot of Tullamore lads build M.H. Moyvalley they were hard workers from what I recall Keyes Builder ? Cobbe Plumber ? Walsh Electricial ? They done some business in the time. Sound Man

Ray Bloody Purchase

I hope the OP slowed down to a crawl three miles outside Loughrea, Ballinasloe and Moate just to get the full nostalgic effect of what it used to be like driving on the road in the good old days.

ohnonotgmail

Ray Bloody Purchase wrote: »

I hope the OP slowed down to a crawl three miles outside Loughrea, Ballinasloe and Moate just to get the full nostalgic effect of what it used to be like driving on the road in the good old days.

I've been in funeral processions that traveled faster.

BeardySi

Missed this thread 4 months ago.

Decided to do the "old road" run a year or so ago when I had a drive from Galway back up here with no time pressures.

Was overall a pleasant drive with a few interesting stops along the way - breakfast in Ballinasloe, whiskey tour in Kilbeggan, a nice cafe in Moate and the folk park just outside the town. Was interesting to see how things had changed from the last time I would have regularly been o n that road (late nineties).

Roads were often in poor order and the 80kmh speed limits were sometimes madenning, whether it's grand conspiracy to grab tolls, a speed trap cashcow or "computer says no" beaurocravy I don't know, but there's bugger all reason for that limit on some of those stretches.

roroliam

Who remembers when Mother Hubbards in Moyvalley was in the caravan run by Barry. I still dream of his cheese burgers and strong tea in a mug (don't drive off with that cup). The journeys were slower but sometimes I think better.

veryangryman

I hear people saying "Oh its great to stop in Kilbeggan".

That isn't a Galway to Dublin journey. Its a Galway to Kilbeggan journey.

No harm breaking up the journey but to do the whole thing on the old goat track is beyond madness. People who miss the "good old days" of feck all on the telly, crooked priests, celebrities who'd turn out to be rapists and in this case, terribly woefully inadequate roads need their head checked.

magicbastarder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONN-0uoTHI

OldMrBrennan83

Apt username at least.

crushproof

I was reminded last summer of the hell that used to be Enfield, Kinnegad, Moate, Loughrea etc when coming back up to Dublin from Kerry on one of the Bank Holidays. The traffic through Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West and Adare was horrendous and took me back to the days of the old N4.

I remember we could get out of the car way outside of Kinnegad or Loughrea and walk along the tailback into town and go to the shops and then just wait on the main street for our parents to slowly come along in the car. And the tractors, holy jaysus the tractors. Also remember the folks attempting to find a way around the bottleneck at Loughrea and getting horrifically lost in a maze of boreens. Good times!

Motorway has been an absolute blessing, the time difference between driving from Dublin to Galway in 2000 and today is incredible. However if I did have some time I wouldn't mind taking the old route, especially for a pitstop at Kilbeggan - if the wife is driving!