Malahide Castle "getting there" options?

boomdocker

Bringing my daughter to Sam Fender on Sunday 25th

Never been to Malahide Castle before

Travelling from the South east, so will have to drive at least some of the way

I've seen reference to parking near there being a nightmare?

If so, the options seem to be to drive to a dart somewhere , or city centre and get a bus?

Any advice appreciated

Kilteragh

Have a flick through the (not very long) Depeche Mode thread. Feedback from multiple people based on last year's experience.

PTH2009

https://marathongroup.ie/collections/bus-to-concerts

Will be my first time trying these out for gigs, sounds straight forward enough on paper. Reckon to get back into the city for my late bus home ill have to try get near the exit for the Encores

Venue is decent and compact enough

whomitconcerns

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058299407/malahide-castle-getting-there-options

Drive to bray get the dart to malahide. Hey out for dart home late

the_amazing_raisin

Ditto on getting the Dart from Bray, it's a short walk from the Dart station to Malahide Castle (and really nice through the castle grounds)

Getting on at Bray will mean you should get a seat without issue, but be prepared for the Dart to be packed by the time it leaves the city centre

Get there early to anticipate delays, and make sure you get a Dart directly to Malahide and not a changeover at Howth Junction. Plenty of nice place to grab food in Malahide if you need to kill time

If you accidentally arrive way too early you can always go to the model railway museum. Might be some fitting revenge on your daughter for dragging you to see Sam Fender 😂

You can get a Dart directly back to Bray, or some commuter trains do an express run to Connolly where you can change.

You might also consider staying overnight in Dublin if you're worried it'll be late by the time you get to your car. It adds a lot of expense obviously, but also means you're driving home with a fresh head and a cooked breakfast so worth thinking about

Jambonjunior

What's it like getting the return dart back?

Fanirish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684224#Comment_120684224

Personally would be walking towards exit whilst encore starts

reflekting

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684271#Comment_120684271

It's approx 20-30 mins wait if you get back to the Dart about half hour after the gig has finished.

Wooderson

Berzerk that shows get licensed without significant additional transit alternatives arranged.

Fanirish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685157#Comment_120685157

Additional Dart services and buses added, what more do you want. It’s 20,000 people leaving a venue in the space of 20 minutes. Realistically what can they do?

Wooderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685174#Comment_120685174

Don't hold shows there.

Jambonjunior

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684271#Comment_120684271

Personally I'd want to see the full show.

c.p.w.g.w

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685242#Comment_120685242

My OH has went to London 2 times in the past year for gigs instead of going to the Dublin dates as it typically worked out only a little more expensive and more convenient...

She paid less for a hotel(on a tube stop) than she would have paid for a hotel in Dublin and trying to get to that hotel in Dublin would have taken ages and been a lot more expensive than the tube

Fanirish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685268#Comment_120685268

Ah you can I mean watch encore from near the back. Always did that and got first dart back into town

Fanirish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685242#Comment_120685242

Sure then people will complain that even more big acts skip ireland cause no magicial venues with perfect transport options that can magically transport 20,000 people back into city centre with no hassle or stress within minutes of a concert being over.

mob a scale of things malahide miles better than marley or Phoenix park etc

Wooderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685299#Comment_120685299

As you admitted yourself, you leave a show early to accommodate how bad the transport links are there. This is nonsense.

whomitconcerns

Try leaving Wembley or Twickenham with 70/80k others and most using train and tube... It's organised and works.. Is it fast.. No.. Is it efficient... Yes.. Is it cheap to see a show in London... No. 🤣

Malahide is a great place, just do the dart thing, it will be a lot less hassle

Fanirish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685394#Comment_120685394

Don’t leave early just happen to be near the back for last song.

transport links in ireland being bad is not exactly a shocker.

and malahide is probably one of the better ones in Dublin.

c.p.w.g.w

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685422#Comment_120685422

It's not cheap, but it's not much more experience than Dublin, it's less hassle to get to/from gig and around London in general

Goldengirl

Its really not that bad. Have done the DART and driven (parking illegally in the town).

Just know that you will be spending time walking to car or dart, waiting for transport, or to get out of the carparks.

And breathe.

Its part and parcel of any live event.

And as someone said Malahide is way better than many others that have zero transport options.

boomdocker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120685522#Comment_120685522

Is it handy enough to get parking somewhere on the side of the road in the town?

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120686651#Comment_120686651

Thsts what we have done in the past, parked on the upper outskirts and walked in.

I don't know if there will be clamping and towing this year which they warn about, but really there is a lot of places around the edges to park without adversely affecting residents as long as you are up to /can walk in.

It makes it easier to get out of too, or put it this way you may not be faster because of the walk but it is more pleasant, imo.

Hope we get good weather 🤞

griffdaddy

Is it easy enough to spend some time having pints after the gig in Malahide and getting a taxi an hour or two later?

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120690087#Comment_120690087

To the South East?

griffdaddy

Apologies, just back to the city I meant

stargazer 68

Plenty of pubs in malahide for after the gig although they are usually pretty busy as 'regular' folk are out for a drink and then concert goers

Nowso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684271#Comment_120684271

had to do that at liam gallagher years back - got the only dart that left the next dart ended up walking the tracks back - wouldnt go to another gig there in a rush

murpho999

Was at Paolo Nutini last Friday.

Live in Bray, so got the DART and it's the way to go.

Stayed the whole show (after all that's why you're there) and left at leisurely pace.

Yes, it was a busy walk to the DART but it was fine, clear where you had to go and just a short crowded wait at the station and on the train.Was on train at 23.30 and even got a seat.

Plenty of trains running so it's not an issue and the way to go.

boomdocker

So - after a lot of back and forth (with myself ;)) decided to go for the official parking , even though it galled me to pay €25 to park in a field....had considered just parking somewhere on the road, but don't know the area at all, so didn't want to chance it

We planned to arrive just after 5, traffic was grand, more or less straight in. The parking was right beside the main entrance. Asked one of the stewards (of which there were plenty) what it was like getting out the previous night for Blur, he said it was busy but ok..

Anyway, gig finished (which was awesome by the way), we were towards the front and pretty much just went with the crowd, headed for the car park, took maybe 5 mins. About 1/4 of the cars were moving by the time we got to ours. We were slightly fortunate in that we were parked just a few rows from the exit. Lots of stewards directing the traffic so moved well. Got out on the road in a few mins. Slow but moving on the road for about 10 mins. I reckon we were back on the M50 heading south in no more than 20 mins.

I can see that if there were a $hitload more cars there it could be problematic alright. I guess the demographic of the crowd would determine that

Anyway, was all good for us, dare I say it, nearly worth paying the €25....

Kilteragh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120766579#Comment_120766579

Exactly. If you want to park onsite (which is best for those travelling back outside Dublin) then get there early and get back to your car as quickly as possibly. Worked for me too.

Wooderson

Drove on Sat and parked in official carpark at 4.15. Was in the 3rd row from the front near the exit. Left Blur midway through final song. Was out of the carpark within 5 mins and on the M50 southbound 15 mins later. Zero issues.

odyssey06

Just be aware, if you are coming out of the Marathon Back Road car park, you could not turn left in the direction of Portmarnock. You had to turn right towards Malahide Road.

There were signs of a Pavilion car park, not sure who was using that.