Quickest way to Galway on a Friday evenin

shakaman

Hi all, I'm facing a race against time tomorrow evening.....I'm leaving work in the IFSC in Dublin at 3pm to be at a match 15miles the far side of Galway by 7.30pm.

Do any of you know of any shortcuts which could speed me up along the way? (ways around Clonard/Moate/Kilbeggan/Milltownspass for instance as the traffic is bound to be horrible!!), I've thought about the train but I need the car over the weekend....

prospect

Beg your boss to let you out an hour earlier, maybe you could work through lunch.

shakaman

Gettin out at 3pm is after beggin him to let me go....I'm starting at 7am and workin through lunch!

prospect

Oh,

Well, what ever route you take, drive safely.

edmund_f

is there not some way up through summerhill, mullingar, athlone, bit longer/worse roads but would cut out the traffic?

shakaman

edmund_f wrote:

is there not some way up through summerhill, mullingar, athlone, bit longer/worse roads but would cut out the traffic?

Where do i turn off for Summerhill?

impr0v

see here for how to bypass miltownpass, rochfortbridge, kilbeggan & moate by going through Mullingar.

pred racer

Different route altogether, in enfield turn off for edenderry, tullamore, birr, portumna, loughrea, galway. it only ever take me 2.5 hrs or less (normally 2) on a fri to get home (near portumna) and I am less than an hour from galway
should make it easy. once you get past edenderry you will have no traffic until loughrea!

Bogger77

pred racer wrote:

Different route altogether, in enfield turn off for edenderry, tullamore, birr, portumna, loughrea, galway. it only ever take me 2.5 hrs or less (normally 2) on a fri to get home (near portumna) and I am less than an hour from galway
should make it easy. once you get past edenderry you will have no traffic until loughrea!

Alternative
Maynooth
Take the Maynooth Exit of the M4, take the Turn for Straffan/Naas (2nd exit I thinks), turn Right at the Junction at barberstown Castle, Headign for Clane, take the bypass round Clane, take the Prosperous road, keep on this road, through Allenwood, Derry SumThing, Take the LEFT Turn to Edenderry, just after Carbury Mushrooms (u'll smell the factory), this is now the Enfield to Edenderry road, Through Edenderry heading for Tullamore.
Tullamore
Traffic in Tullamore is Crap, at the big Round about after Tesco's, Turn Left, at the lights Turn Right [N80], if traffic is queing here, take the left immediately after the Tuallmore Court Hotel,{otherwise stay on the main road, taking 1st exit at next roundabout [N52], straight through traffic lights heading for Birr}, this is through spollenstown, slow over very narrow railway bridge, take Right at the CrossRoads (Rugby club is on the left), take left and you're back on the road to Birr. [N52]

Head for Birr, at a place called the Blueball, bout 5 miles from Tullamore,(service station on left) take the road to the Right for Shannonbridge, go through Shannonbridge, and you arrive in Ballinasloe.

Ballinasloe
In Ballinasloe, take the Galway road, but take the Right Road at a crossroads just about 2 miles after the end of the speedlimit (there's new buildings at the left hand side here), down that road about another mile, take the Athenry/ New Inn road (signposted), stay on that road to Athenry, head for Galway, but on the Railway bridge, take the side road to left, stay on this road until you have to join the Monivea Road, head for Galway, through Carnmore Cross, take the byPass round the City. If your heading out the Moycullen Road, go right round the roundabout(dont take the Clifden exit, but head back toward the headford road), take a left at the traffic lights at newcastle road, head towards the westwood. (fastest way, avoiding the Queue at the westwood lights).

Bogger77

I live near Tuallmore, and worked in Galway, the way above was my Monday morning way to work. Granted it's now only 80kmph on the non N class roads, and this road uses R roads the whole way from the M4, it should work out better.

Sleepy

Honestly, your best bet is to take the train and have a cab booked at the Ceannt Station. 2hrs 40mins on the train and I think there's a train around 3ish, you'd be down by 6 o clockish giving you a good hour to get out to the game.

Or, there's always aer arran...

seamus

Ring in sick.

Bogger77

seamus wrote:

Ring in sick.

bad idea, he's already his boss for time off, the boss will kop him

Bogger77

edmund_f wrote:

is there not some way up through summerhill, mullingar, athlone, bit longer/worse roads but would cut out the traffic?

getting out to summerhill at 3 or 4 on a friday is a nitemare! Queued all the way to Blanch.

Victor

Fly with Aer Arann?

shakaman

Bogger, Pred Racer, Improv (and Seamus/Victor to alesser extent;)) thanks for your advice gonna go with the 'bogger77 route' as it's know officially known!

If I end up spendin the weekend on the sauce in some unheard of midlands town it's down to ye b@stards!!!!

billy the squid

shakaman wrote:

Bogger, Pred Racer, Improv (and Seamus/Victor to alesser extent;)) thanks for your advice gonna go with the 'bogger77 route' as it's know officially known!

If I end up spendin the weekend on the sauce in some unheard of midlands town it's down to ye b@stards!!!!

I hear borris-on-ossery is nice this time of year

but you might need some kindling for smoke signals as the mobiles dont work

Bogger77

billy the squid wrote:

I hear borris-on-ossery is nice this time of year

but you might need some kindling for smoke signals as the mobiles dont work

if he ends up in Borris, he's very lost. and will need a lot of drink to survive!

Bogger77

Victor wrote:

Fly with Aer Arann?

aer arran's middle of the day flight is around 12 or 1, it's too early, and the website shows an evening flight at 10 :-(

shakaman

Borris-in-Ossiry holy sh't, better make a stop at an offy for cartload of booz so! In any case it won't go to waste...oxygen in 2 weeks time woooohoooo!!!!

shakaman

Well lads thanks again for the advice, managed to get out of the office around 2.30. Took the edenderry, tullamore, shannonbridge, ballinasloe route and got home at about 7.30pm would have been alot quicker but for the fact we didn't know the route and made a few mistakes along the way. Jesus the roads down that way are seriously bumpy!....tested the old suspension on the Passat I tell ya!! I think next time I do it I'll go through Portumna and Loughrea.

Hope ye had a good weekend....oh yeah and we won the match!

Bogger77

I can do that route, in a little less than 3.5hrs, on a Friday :-) practise makes perfect. Until Loughrea is by passed, it's a nitemare both directions on a Friday.
Roads are bumpy, but that's just to keep ya awake.

4Xcut

shakaman wrote:

Gettin out at 3pm is after beggin him to let me go....I'm starting at 7am and workin through lunch!

Why are you working through lunch if your starting at 7. 7 till 3 is still an 8 hour day