Naas Bypass - 40 Years of Motorways in Ireland

JupiterKid

Next week the M7 Naas bypass - all 8 kilometres of it, celebrates its 40th birthday, and thus the motorway network that we enjoy today to get around the country quickly and safely dates back to that very modest start on October 4th 1983.

RTE News 1983:

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2013/1002/477647-irelands-first-motorway-1983/

When the Naas bypass opened - 21 years after Northern Ireland got its first stretch of its M1 - it was at a time when the state of the country’s road network was dire to say the least. I well remember the opening as an 8 year old lad obsessed with maps and roads - my dad took me down for a few spins on the new motorway in his car. 🚘👍

It was so cool to see grade separated junctions and blue signs just like up North. It would be another decade before the M7 was extended to bypass Newbridge - and 27 years until the inter-urban system from Dublin to the regional cities was finally completed in 2010.

Do any AHers have any memories of the M7 Naas Bypass opening in 1983 and the development of our motorways since?

Happy 40th, Naas bypass!

mazdamiatamx5

Pity there wasn't as much invested in rail.

Larbre34

Can't say I remember the Naas Bypass opening, but I do clearly remember the M50 Western Parkway, from Firhouse to Blanchardstown, and also cycling the M11 Shankill-Bray Bypass before it also opened in '92.

Its hard to express to younger people just how backward the Country was in 1983, but I think the Motorway network, when it was invested in, played an absolutely massive part in the economic explosion evident since around 1990.

Driving from Dublin to any of Waterford, Cork, Limerick or Galway for a bit of work and get back inside one business day was unimaginable in 1983.

Happy Birthday M7!

We might have connected the various regions to Dublin by motorway, but the Tuam to Limerick M17/18 is still the only motorway connecting two non Dublin regions. Crazy that there still isn't a motorway linking the 2nd and 3rd cities in the state (Cork & Limerick). There remains so much more to be done to properly connect the regions outside of Dublin to each other.

Savetheplanet

How many threads are you going to start on this? Will there be one on the actual birthday as well. Thread 2 and counting.

freshpopcorn

I was born in 1992 a few months before the Glanmire bypass opened. I loved watching the Motorway network grow and watching the trees/etc grow around them over the years.

Then in 2003 the Watergrasshill one opened. We went to Cork on the first day off it and my memory of it was the Gardaí were clocking people on it.

I've relatives in Laois so I always remember the Portlaoise bypass. I used love the big lights at roundabout.

Cashel opened in 2004.

A section around New Inn opened then followed by the Cahir section. I remember there been a 100km/h limit being in place at start before it was upgraded to a 120km/h.

Fermoy opened in 2007. I was visiting my grandmother in the Fermoy hospital day it opened and you could see the motorway from the hospital.

Mitchelstown opened in 2009. I was returning from a school trip that day and for some reason the driver exited the motorway in Fermoy and I didn't get to go on it.

The next stretch to open was Johnstown/Urlingford. We used often stop in either of these places for chips/etc.

Abbeyleix/Durrow became the last stretch to open in 2010 after years of being stuck in traffic in Abbeyleix. Main memory of being stuck in traffic in Abbeyleix was in December 2001 when a Garda was shot dead. It was the evening of The Late Late Toy Show.

Memories of the M7 mainly consisted of going to Dublin with my sister when she was at college. I remember the Kildare/ Monasterevin stretches opening and the famous Red Cow Roundabout. I also liked seeing the Globe near Naas.

mazdamiatamx5

Boards has hit a new low.

Savetheplanet

Considering Moderators merge threads on the same subject when they are recently started together surely the Moderator who started this thread and also another one on the same subject a few weeks ago should just merge both threads before we have a third thread on the roads birthday.

satguy

The whole site is dyeing,, owners that once worked hard to make it work,, and it must be said, make a few Bob...

Now they sit and cower,, the site is now loosing money,, where as back in the day, it once made money.

Can I ask why,,, Please WHY,, a Thread about something that was important back in the day is now just about poor moderation.

While I doubt site owners are still watching these days, how hard would it have been to keep a Naas Bypass thread moving............ in good fashion ,,

mazdamiatamx5

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121179588#Comment_121179588

What about Caherciveen to Drumshambo?

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121179588#Comment_121179588

We don't have the population really for more motorways.

Most of them are well under capacity as it is.

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121178827#Comment_121178827

It must be a huge factor in productivity.

Much easier for trucks to get around the country and to know how much time it'll take to get to/from our ports.

It's funny our economy started to boom in the mid 90s but the motorway network like M7, M50, M8 weren't completed til the 05 to 07 years. Just before the crash.

@JupiterKid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058312917/m7-naas-bypass-at-40

Will we have ones for "tomorrow", "today", "yesterday", "last week", "last month" etc too @JupiterKid ? 🙄

You're as bad as that unmentionable 4 lettered poster that scatter posts inane threads about whatever comes to his mind.

JupiterKid

Delightful torrent of unwarranted abuse in response to a thread I posted up in AH in good faith.

It is a very important milestone in my opinion and I wanted to see what others here thought of our motorway system and its modest beginnings, not just those who know a good deal about the subject on the Roads forum.

Looks like I needn’t have bothered as it’s apparently open season to denigrate mods at every opportunity.

Pure nastiness.

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121179668#Comment_121179668

Contrary to popular belief Leitrim does exist. But there is no Drumshambo.

Count Dracula

Naas is in Dublin now, it is official.

ejmaztec

I was still using an Irish road map from the 1940s until they started building new roads, the feckers. If it weren't for satnav, I'd never get anywhere now.

Gregor Samsa

Little known fact. Before the motorway was built, the town was known as Nas. When the M7 first opened, with low traffic volumes and the first chance many people had to dive legally at high speed, the town quickly became known as Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas. It's only in recent years, with higher congestion, that it's been called Naas.

Savetheplanet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121181172#Comment_121181172

"torrent of unwarranted abuse" "Pure nastiness." You seem to be very easily offended OP. Maybe you should merge both of your threads because I know if I started 2 threads which were basically the exact same it wouldn't take long for a moderator to merge them and tell me to stop opening multiple threads on the same subject. I don't see were you see the abuse you say is aimed at you either!

knucklehead6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121181823#Comment_121181823

In fairness the two threads are in two different forums.

I’ve never heard of cross forum thread merging. Maybe chill out a little bit.

Gregor Samsa

I like JupiterKid's threads in AH. These little-known anniversaries of important events are interesting, and they can be quite different from a a similarly themed thread in a specialist forum. There's a place for both. Long may they continue.

Savetheplanet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121181877#Comment_121181877

Chill out? I'm not the one accusing people of being nasty and abusive for no reason.

Badly Drunk Boy

I was 10 when the Naas Bypass opened, and living in Newbridge, but it didn't really affect my life. We were poor and we didn't have a car, so that was one of the reasons it meant nothing to me. If I was going to Dublin on the bus, it still went through Naas so no difference there, and if by train...well, Naas didn't have a train station either so no effect there either.

Leg End Reject

It seems some posters got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.

I remember being on this when it was newly opened, we weren't actually going anyway, just gawping like culchies at the fancy new motorway. 🤣🤣

Innocent times.

freshpopcorn

What the Naas Ball would look like at The Sphere in Las Vegas!

freshpopcorn

Reminded me of you @JupiterKid