Gardaí say the arrival of thousands of rugby fans on the northside of Dublin to watch tomorrow's historic rugby match in Croke Park between Ireland and France should pose no major traffic problems.
The GAA stadium is well served by public transport but there is little on-street parking. Illegally parked cars will be clamped or towed away on match day, according to Dublin City Council.
Traffic management will be overseen by gardaí and barriers will be in place on surrounding roads to prevent car access. A Garda spokesman said the force is not expecting any great difficulties, in spite of the fact that many of the fans will be more accustomed to attending matches at Lansdowne Road on the city's southside. "Management will be much the same as for any GAA match," he said.
"Barriers will be in place on roads surrounding the stadium, with access for local vehicles only. We are expecting a capacity crowd and we will manage it as we always do."
For ease of access on match day, tickets have been colour-coded.
Fans holding light or dark purple tickets, for the Hogan or Nally Stands, should enter the stadium via Jones's Road, off the North Circular Road.
Yellow ticket holders, for the Davin Canal End, should enter via Russell Street, also off the North Circular Road. Fans with tickets for Hill 16, which are green, should enter via St Joseph's Avenue, off Clonliffe Road, and red ticket holders should access the Cusack Stand via Foster Terrace, off the Ballybough Road, or St James's Avenue off Clonliffe Road.
For those who must drive to the match there will be limited parking at Clonliffe College, on Clonliffe Road, which can be accessed via Lower Drumcondra Road. And there will be a small number of spaces at O'Connell School, accessed from the North Circular Road.
Both facilities will be open from 10am. Parking is also available in city centre car parks, which are close to Dart, Luas and bus routes.
Marlborough Street car park is approximately 20 minutes on foot from the stadium. And the car park at the IFSC is a 30-minute walk. Other city centre parking facilities include Arnotts, Abbey Street and Parnell Street.
From the city centre, buses which pass within three minutes of Croke Park include the 3, 11, 11A 11B, 13, 13A, 16, 16A, 33, 33B, 41, 41A, 41B, 41C and the 123. Drumcondra train station is a three-minute walk away.
Clontarf Road Dart station is approximately a 40-minute walk from the stadium and there is ample car parking at Dart stations along the route.
The Luas line runs as far as Connolly Station on Amiens Street, a 30-minute walk from the stadium. Trains to Heuston and Connolly stations can be accessed from around the country on match day, but Iarnród Éireann is advising early booking to avoid disappointment.
Some fans will also be availing of buses run by southside pubs to take their customers to and from the match.
There will not be any specific parking or drop-down facilities for these buses at Croke Park.
