[22-27/09/2009] National Ploughing Championship @ Athy

[Colm Moore]

http://www.buseireann.ie/news.php?id=754&month=Aug National Ploughing Championship

Travel to the Ploughing Championship in Athy 22nd/23rd/24th September 09. Plan your journey on our Journey Planner. http://194.106.151.94/jplan/bin/

Bus Éireann will be offering special fares on regular services to Athy.

Bus Éireann in association with Irish Rail will be operating a combined Rail and Bus shuttle to the show.

Bus Éireann will operate a shuttle bus service from the NPA carpark.

Wednesday, 19th August, 2009

[karlr42]

Bus Eireann are obviously too cheap to buy a domain name :rolleyes:

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=507 National Ploughing Championship Travel Arrangements by Marketing Department

Iarnród Éireann in conjunction with Bus Éireann are providing a number of combined rail and bus services, from train stations in Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Ennis and Galway (all via Portarlington), Heuston station, Dublin (via Kildare) and Waterford (via Athy) to the National Ploughing Championship in Clarendon near Athy.

The National Ploughing Championship is taken place from Tuesday 22nd September 2009 to Thursday 24th September 2009.

Click here to book your train tickets. http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp


http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.aspSeat Reservations - Special Fare Promotions


Ploughing Championship including Bus Transfers. These fares are subject to the terms and conditions below.

Cork to Athy http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp?action=list&specials_origin=CORK%20&specials_destination=ATHY

Ennis to Athy http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp?action=list&specials_origin=ENNIS&specials_destination=ATHY

Galway to Athy http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp?action=list&specials_origin=GALWY&specials_destination=ATHY

Dublin Heuston to Athy http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp?action=list&specials_origin=HSTON&specials_destination=ATHY

Limerick to Athy http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp?action=list&specials_origin=LMRCK&specials_destination=ATHY

Tralee to Athy http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp?action=list&specials_origin=TRLEE&specials_destination=ATHY

Waterford to Athy http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/special_offers.asp?action=list&specials_origin=WFORD&specials_destination=ATHY

Terms and Conditions

1. These fares are only available on www.irishrail.ie
2. These tickets are not a seat reservation.
3. These tickets are non refundable.
4. These tickets are only valid on the services they are sold for. Customers may join the designated service at any station it serves.
5. Students are only allowed a maximum 25kg luggage

For our regular scheduled services, please click here. http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/timetables.asp

[ThomasJ]

Nice to see them looking after the folk of Wexford.

Ah sure no worries, the current options for wexford residents to get to waterford and onto athy should resolve this problem. :rolleyes:

[Colm Moore]

http://www.npa.ie/index.phpWelcome to the National Ploughing Association

The 2009 National Ploughing Championships will take place on the lands of Eamon and Willie Fennin, Cardenton, Athy Co Kildare. 22nd, 23rd and 24th September 2009.

The site begins on the R428 Athy/Stradbally Road and runs right back to the Canal. Neighbouring farmers have kindly offered their lands for Parking.

An interesting piece of history tells us that the National Ploughing Association was founded in Athy in 1931 and the first ever National Championships was held in Coursetown, Athy. The land is now owned by Jim and Iris Fox, Coursetown Country House and the same field will be part of the overall area used for the 2009 National Ploughing Championships nearly 80 years on.

Not just for the ploughing or machinery enthusiast, the Ploughing Championships will have Livestock Exhibitions, Hunt Chase, Fashion Shows, Tented Trade Village, Vintage Exhibitions and Food Halls, Bio-energy village, Forestry Village and an International Property Exhibition.


http://www.npa.ie/pages.php?page_Id=48Travel Information

Distances by Car

Dublin Airport 83kms/52mls
Cork City 195 kms/121mls
Galway 174kms/108mls
Rosslare Harbour 116kms/72mls
Belfast 238kms/148mls

For routes to site, visit The AA. Please allow an additional two hours on your travel time to the National Ploughing Championships.

If you are travelling from abroad, Dublin Airport is the nearest commercial airport. The airport runs a bus service (Airlink) to one of the main train stations in the centre of Dublin, Heuston Station (see www.dublinbus.ie). From Heuston Station, you can get the Dublin Waterford train (see www.irishrail.ie) alighting in Athy Train Station (approx. 1 hour from Dublin), where there are buses travelling to the site of the National Ploughing Championships.


Travelling By Train & Bus

Irish Rail and Bus Eireann are providing a rail and bus service for National Ploughing Championship visitors. There will be special fares combining return rail and bus transfers, available from www.irishrail.ie.

Athy train station will serve the people from Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow using the existing train timetable, visit www.irishrail.ie

Bus transfers leaving the site back to Athy train station will depart from 15.30 and every hour until 18.30.

Kildare Town train station will service all the people from Dublin City and its environs, with the first train leaving Dublin at 06.25, visit www.irishrail.ie.

Return buses leaving the ploughing site from 15.30 and every hour until 18.30.

Portarlington train station will serve people from Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary and all locations west of the Shannon. For more details on these services, log on to www.irishrail.ie.

Tickets will be available to purchase from the Irish Rail website 28 days in advance of the National Ploughing Championships.

More details to follow...

[Colm Moore]

Map http://www.garda.ie/Documents/User/National%20Ploughing%20Champ%20Traffic%20Press%20R elease%2009.doc

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=4329
National Ploughing Championships 2009
Travel Routes


Route 1 – Purple Route:

This Route is for traffic travelling to the event from Kildare, Wicklow, north Wexford and north Carlow.

Travel on the M9 southbound to the Kilcullen exit, take the N78 southbound towards Athy. At Russellstown Cross turn right (L8067) and proceed to Bert Cross via Geraldine Cross roads, Clongorrow Cross, Sailsbury, straight on (L8068) to Bert Bridge then left (L8068) onto parking in the Purple Car Parks.


Route 2 – Orange Route:

This Route is for traffic travelling to the event from Dublin, Kildare, and northern counties via Dublin

Travel on the N7/M7 southbound as far as Exit 14 (Monasterevin Exit). Proceed to Monasterevin, turn left at Athy Road Junction (Texaco Service Station) and proceed on R417 (Athy Road) through Kildangan and Kilberry and onto to parking in the Orange Car Parks.


Route 3 – Green Route:

This Route is for traffic travelling to the event from Tullamore and all Western Counties.

Travel to Tullamore and take the N80 eastbound to Mountmellick. Proceed to Emo on the R422 and on to Vicarstown via L3930. Proceed to Bawn Hill (L4005) and Moatstown (One Way System) and onto parking in the Green Car Parks.


Route 4 – Brown Route:

This Route is for traffic travelling to the event from Limerick and South Western Counties.

Travel on the N7 northbound to Mountrath, continue northbound on the M7 and exit at Exit 16 (The Heath). Proceed on the R425 turning on to the N80 for Stradbally. On the outskirts of Stradbally turn left and take the R427 for Vicarstown.

At Garrans Cross turn right on L7939 to Mill Land (One Way System) onto the R428, the main Athy Road to Castlemitchell Cross. Turn left onto (L8059) to Churchtown (L8061) (One Way System) and onto parking in the Brown Car Parks.


Route 5 – Blue Route:

This Route is for traffic travelling to the event from Cork and Southern Counties.

Travel on the N8 northbound through Abbeyleix then turning right for Ballyroan (R425) for Stradbally. Proceed northbound to Money Cross turning right for Timahoe (R426). In Timahoe turn left onto the L3838 for Stradbally.

In Stradbally Town, Court Square turn right on to N80 for Carlow. At Hacketts Cross traffic will turn left to Ballintubert (L3953) (One Way System).

Proceed to Castlemitchell, turn right to the R428 and onto parking in the Blue Car Parks.


Route 6 – Grey Route:

This Route is for traffic travelling to the event from Kilkenny and South Eastern Counties.

Travel from Kilkenny to Castlecomer northbound on the N78 to Athy via Ballylinan.

Before Athy take the left turn to Goulyduff (L8062) (One Way System) and right at Kilcross Cross Roads (L4006) and onto parking in the Yellow Car Parks.


Route 7 – Yellow Route:

This Route is for traffic travelling to the event from Carlow and South Eastern Counties.

Exit of the M9 Motorway at the Castledermot exit. Proceed onto Carlow Town.

At the Deerpark Road roundabout continue straight to the Dr Cullen Road roundabout. Take the 3rd exit and travel onto the N80 Portlaoise Road. Proceed along this route in the direction of Stradbally, through Ballickmoyler and Arless. At Simmons Cross turn right and merge with Route 6 (Grey Route).

Travel through Ballylinan and before Athy take the left turn to Goulyduff (L8062) (One Way System) and right at Kilcross Cross Roads (L4006) and onto parking in the Yellow Car Parks.


Traffic Issues:

1. Traffic routes for the event have been examined to minimise travel times and route suitability. Each route has been coloured coded to aid the travelling public and are separate and unique to each other.

2. Routes to the event and car parking have limitations due to their make up and ability to take large volumes of traffic. Some routes will have dedicated one way systems closer to the car parks which will aid entry and exiting. All local residents effected by one way systems have been issued with event resident passes.

3. Parking and Traffic delays are inevitable with patrons strongly advised to plan their routes for entry and exit well in advance and consult the Garda Siochana Traffic Management Plans as released.

4. On site car parks are adjacent to the event site and are in green field locations. There will be at least a 60 minute delay in exiting on site car parks at the end of each day.

5. Patrons are asked to follow the directions of members of An Garda Siochana and stewards on duty at the event, following all event directional signage. This will benefit all road users in getting to / from the event in safety.


6. Traffic Restrictions:

The following roads will be restricted to one way traffic at designated times in the morning and afternoon, 8am – 11am and 4pm – 7pm (Subject to review).

• Green Route - L4005 Curraclone Church (Bawn Hill) to Castlereban South/ Moatstown.
• Brown Route – Castlemeitchel (L8059) and Churchtown(L8061) to Milltown/ Cardington.
• Blue Route – Hacketts Cross through Ballinturbet L8060 Castlemitchel North and R428 in the area of the site will be closed not allowing traffic to proceed to Athy or from Athy to Stradbally.
• Yellow Route – L8062 Goulyduff- Coolroe ( Ballinturbert Road)
• There will be no through road from Woodstock Street to Stradbally via Cardington (Event Site). Access will only be given to emergency services and exhibitors.

7. Alternative Routes for Athy / Stradbally:

People will be encouraged to travel through Ballylinan and on to Simmons Cross right to Stradbally and the same travelling the return journey. Or alternatively people should travel to Monasterevin and use the motorway to Portlaoise / Stradbally.

[Colm Moore]

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=4329National Ploughing Championships 2009
Travel Routes

Park & Ride:


The park & ride facilities for this event will be as follows:

Patrons travelling to the event on the Orange Route (from Dublin, Kildare, and northern counties via Dublin) will be directed to the Orange Car Parks and use the park & ride facilities from there.

Bus Eireann are contracted by the NPA to provide bus transfers between Cuan Mhuire, Athy and the Park and Ride Site in the Orange Car Parks.

Passengers will be picked up from the park and ride at the side of Orange Car Park near Bert bridge where a turning circle has been constructed. They will exit and travel to Cuan Mhuire and onto to the drop off point. Bus Eireann will enter Cuan Mhuire via the side gate and allow passengers to alight and enter the site using the pontoon bridge.

This dedicated shuttle service for the park & ride will run for the duration of the event on demand.


Public Transport Access:

Iarnroid Eireann scheduled train services to Athy, Kildare and Portarlington train stations and bus transfers to the event site.

Bus Eireann scheduled regional bus services to Athy town centre and bus transfers to the event site.


Private Coaches:

Private Coaches will be accommodated in 3 designated coach parking areas on site as follows:

* Coaches travelling on the Green, Brown & Blue Routes will park at Coach Park A. Coaches travelling on the Green Route will turn right at Curraclone Church (Bawn Hill) merging with the Brown Route (Stradbally /Athy Rd) and at Castlemitchel will merge with Blue Route and park in Blue Car Park (Coach Park A).

* Coaches travelling on the Yellow & Grey Routes will park in Coach Park B (the Woodstock Industrial Estate, Kilkenny Rd, Athy).

* Coaches travelling on the Purple & Orange Routes will park in Coach Park C (at Cuan Mhuire on the L8068).


Drop-Off & Pick-Up Facilities – Taxi:

The only drop-off and pick-up facility for taxis at this event is at Woodstock Street, Athy, Co. Kildare. Patrons will then walk to the event site.

The temporary rank will be strictly monitored by Gardai and any breach of regulations will be enforced. It will be operated on a first come first served basis. The parking of taxis will be in single file.

Taxis travelling on all routes will be provided access to this drop off / pick up location.


Vehicular Access for the Mobility Impaired:

Parking for the Mobility Impaired will be provided in two designated areas and will be sign posted:

# In the Blue Car Park off the Blue Route
# In the exhibition area

Parking for the Mobility Impaired travelling on all routes will be provided access to these parking areas by Gardai / stewards by the clear display of mobility impaired vehicle passes.


Illegal Parking:

No parking of vehicles will be permitted on any of the approach routes to this event site on the days of the event.

Parking restrictions will be in place on roads leading to the event site, Athy Town Centre and the environs of Athy. Vehicles found breaching the restrictions will be towed away and towing charges will be incurred in such cases.


Emergency Access Route:

The Dublin Road, Athy (N78) has been designated as the event Emergency Route and will be manned at all times for the duration of the event.


Event Signage:

All routes to / from the event site will have directional signage. The signs used for this event will be VMS (Variable Message Signs – Flashing Signs) and directional boards.

The signage will indicate each specific Coloured Route directions and ‘Ploughing’ directions.

All patrons attending are advised to pay attention to event signage and follow directions of Gardai and stewards when arriving and leaving the event car parking sites.


Garda Control Room:

An Garda Siochana will have a Garda Control Room on site at the National Ploughing Championships who will alert media in the event of any traffic alternations / disruptions during the course of the event.

For more details on the National Ploughing Championships Event please refer to the following:

www.npa.ie

The information detailed above forms part of the overall Traffic Management Plan for this event. In the event of a major incident or any other unplanned disruption the above plans may be subject to change.

[Colm Moore]

http://www.buseireann.ie/news.php?id=767&month=SepGetting to National Ploughing Championships is Easy with Bus Eireann’s Range of Special Services

Bus Éireann is providing a range of services to make it easy to get to and from the National Ploughing Championships in Cardenton near Athy.

These include a Park n Ride Service, shuttle services from Athy and nearby train stations, and special services from Clonmel and Kilkenny.

Bus Éireann is providing a Park n Ride service for the National Ploughing Association from the Bert Bridge Car Park to the site of the Championship. The bus service is free to customers and will operate every five minutes in each direction from 07.00 to 19.00 for the three days of the Championship from September 22nd to September 24th 2009 inclusive.

Bus Éireann is also operating a shuttle service to the Championship site from Athy. The shuttle will start from the town at Paddy Dunnes Pub, Woodstock Street, to the bus stop at St. Vincent’s Hospital. The service from the town will operate from 10.00 every 30 minutes to 14.00 inclusive and every 30 minutes from 15.00 until l17.30. From St. Vincent’s bus stop into Athy it will operate from 10.15 every 30 minutes until 15.15. The journey time will be approximately 10 minutes in each direction. The fare is €4 return.

In conjunction with Irish Rail, Bus Éireann is operating shuttle buses from Athy Station, Portarlington Station and Kildare Station to cater for train services from Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Ennis and Galway (all via Portarlington), Heuston Station, Dublin (via Kildare) and Waterford (via Athy)

Details of train services and how to book combined rail and bus shuttle tickets are available on Irish Rail’s website www.irishrail.ie.

Bus Éireann is also providing special fare services from Clonmel and Kilkenny during the Championships for just €10 return. The special services will operate six times a day each way. Services start from Clonmel at 8am each day and from Kilkenny each day at 9.15am. Customers using these services can also avail of the shuttle bus service from Athy (Woodstock Street) to the Ploughing Championship for free when they present their Bus Éireann ticket.

Tuesday, 15th September, 2009

[Kilkea]

Anyone know if there will be problems getting to/from Athy train station for people commuting to Dublin?

[Thomas Ralph]

Shouldn't be too bad, you'll be going in the opposite direction to the ploughing championship attendees.

[Colm Moore]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=athy+kildare&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=27.976484,56.513672&ie=UTF8&ll=52.992186,-6.992068&spn=0.020717,0.087891&z=14

The championships are on the west side and the railway station is on the east side on the Dublin Road (N78) which has been designated as the event Emergency Route, so expect restrictions.

As there is only one bridge in Athy, so it can be congested a the best of times. Athy residents would be best off walking or cycling to the station.