Thousands take to roads for hurling clash

A crowd of 60,000 hurling fans are expected to cram into Croke Park this weekend for the first of the Guinness All-Ireland hurling…

A crowd of 60,000 hurling fans are expected to cram into Croke Park this weekend for the first of the Guinness All-Ireland hurling semi-finals.

It's 40 years since Waterford's hurlers graced All-Ireland day at headquarters and thousands of loyal fans will be hoping this Sunday afternoon's match sets them on the road to realising a long-awaited dream.

The stakes are equally high for Kilkenny Cats fans - the team is angling for an All-Ireland hurling championship hat-trick this year, after being surprisingly knocked out by Wexford in the Leinster Championship semi-final.

Kick-off for the match is 3.30 Sunday afternoon and gardaí are warning commuters of widespread traffic delays on the motorways leading to Croke Park.

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Those arriving via the M1 and M50 Motorways are most likely to run into tailbacks due to the construction of the Dublin Port Tunnel.

The gardaí have asked supporters to use one of the two supervised car parking facilities at Clonliffe College, Clonliffe Road (access via Lower Drumcondra Road), and O'Connell's school, North Richmond Street, (access via North Circular Road).

Parking inside the Garda cordon is restricted, and only residents, residents' families or persons with business or other legitimate reasons are allowed through the Garda cordons.

Illegally parked vehicles may be impounded or clamped and may be liable to a fine of €130.00.

The gardaí have prepared a route to assist vehicles to depart Clonliffe College and O'Connell's School car parks as quickly as possible following the event.  This route will divert official car park traffic away from the Port Tunnel area returning to the junction of the M50 and M1 motorway on the northern side of the Port Tunnel.

Elsewhere, the Dublin Horse show at the RDS continues until tomorrow. Huge crowds are expected for the puissance competition and the grand prix, which offers more than €100,000 in prize money.

The weather is expected to remain dry in most places but isolated showers wil develop. Late in the day rain will arrive in the southwest and west, although temperatures will remain mild at around 20 degrees Celsius.

AA Roadwatch is not advising of any transport major delays although travellers to Britain are reminded of the continuing weekend closures of the Stanstead Rail Express.