St Patrick's Day celebrations will cause havoc for motorists tomorrow as many roads close to facilitate the parade.
Dublin motorists should expect delays on Holles St, Mount St Lower and Grand Canal St Lower, while many roads around the city centre will be inaccessible to traffic until tomorrow afternoon.
The St Patrick's Day parade begins at Granby Row, finishing at Patrick's Street. Road closures will take place from as early as 6am tomorrow, starting with Western Way, which will be closed until 12.30pm. Dominic St Upper, Mountjoy St, St Mary's Place North, Granby Way, Parnell Sq North, Parnell Sq East, O'Connell St (West Lane) and O'Connell Bridge will be closed from 7am until 1pm. Westmoreland St, College Green, Dame St, Lord Edward St, Christchurch Place will be closed to traffic from 7am until 2pm, while Nicholas St and Patrick St will stay closed until 2.30pm. Clanbrassil St Lower (Kevin St to South Circular Rd) will be closed from 10am to 3.30pm. Merrion Square West will be closed until 10pm on March 21st for the fun fair.
In Cork, the following streets will be closed off for the city's parade: Fr Matthew Quay, Fr Matthew St, Morrison Quay and Half Moon St from 9am to 5 pm; Emmett Place from 9am to 10pm; St Patrick's St, St Patrick's Quay (Ship St to St Patrick's Bridge), Lavitt's Quay (from Christy Ring Bridge to St Patrick's Bridge), Coburg St, St Patrick's Hill, MacCurtain St, Anderson's Quay, Merchant's Quay, Parliament St, South Mall, Tuckey St, Washington St, (Courthouse St to Grand Parade), Paul St, and Morgan St closed 11am to 2.30pm. Oliver Plunkett St will remain closed until 5pm.
Sports events could also cause traffic chaos tomorrow, with GAA All-Ireland club finals taking place at Croke Park. The hurling final between Galway's Athenry and Kilkenny's James Stephens will begin at 2pm, while the football final between Portlaois and Ballina follows at 3.40pm. A crowd of up to 50,000 is expected to attend so delays should be expected around the venue before and after the matches.
Also in Dublin, the rugby Leinster schools senior final between Belvedere and Blackrock will kick off at 3.30pm in Lansdowne. In Cork, the Munster final between PBC. and CBC takes place at Musgrave Park at 3pm. Expect delays in these areas.
Motorists should also be a aware of a new Garda road safety campaign that is currently underway and will continue until midnight on March 21st. Gardai have promised that numerous checkpoints will be in operation around the country, and the campaign will be focusing on speed, seatbelt wearing, and drinks and drugs-related driving offences.