HomeTravelRoad closures for Europa League Final announced as gardaí warn of ‘heavy...

Road closures for Europa League Final announced as gardaí warn of ‘heavy traffic’ with thousands of fans to march through Dublin

Date:

Related stories

spot_imgspot_img

Bayern Leverkusen of Germany take on Italian side Atalanta at 8pm, with stiles open from 5pm.

Gardaí have announced a number of road closures and warned motorists to expect “heavy volumes in traffic” in Dublin city centre and in the area of Dublin 4 throughout the day.

A build-up of traffic following the final whistle should also be expected and those in the area should be aware than a fan festival is taking place in Dublin Castle from 10am until 5pm on match day.

A large number of uniformed gardaí will be deployed in Dublin for the event, along with specialist units such as personnel from armed support, air support, the mounted unit, public order units and others.

Almost 3,000 gardaí are expected to be on duty to police the final.

A massive policing plan is in place for the high-profile football match, with more than 600 gardaí working in the public order units on that day.

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – May 20th

Gardaí have also been liaising with foreign police forces to identify any “high-risk” fans of finalists Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta travelling to Dublin for the final.

German and Italian police are understood to have shared intelligence with gardaí, who have been briefed on several hooligans who come here.

In the lead-up to the final, gardaí from across the country have been taking part in public order training to prepare for potential violence inside and outside the Aviva Stadium – renamed the Dublin Arena for the final.

There will be a vehicle cordon in place from 3pm on both sides of Lansdowne Road, both sides of Shelbourne Road, both sides of Bath Avenue, Newbridge Avenue, Herbert Road, Lansdowne Lane from Northumberland Road to Shelbourne Road and Lansdowne Park.

All access routes will be maintained with a garda presence and mobile garda patrols, while members of the National Public Order Unit will also be present.

Local residents will be able to access the area on production of a valid driving licence or a proof of address, though it may be necessary to exclude all traffic due to a high volume of pedestrians.

This may occur in the two hours before the event or afterwards.

Parking will be prohibited from 7am on match day at Lansdowne Road, Shelbourne Road, Havelock Square, Herbert Road, Lansdowne Lane, Northumberland Road and South Lotts Road.

Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium and the RDS Simmonscourt will host both fan meeting points, with Bayern Leverkusen supporters to head to Shelbourne Park and Atalanta supporters to attend RDS Simmonscourt.

They will be the points where fans will meet and congregate before the match and move together to the stadium, the fan march from each of the participating teams is a regular feature of the UEFA Club Competition finals.

Atalanta FC will leave Simmonscourt Road at around 5.30pm and will march to the stadium via Simmonscourt Road, Merrion Road, Pembroke Road and Lansdowne Road.

Bayer Leverkusen supporters will leave Shelbourne Park at around 5.30pm and march to the stadium via South Lotts Road and Bath Avenue.

Gardaí are expected some rolling road closures as a result of both marches.

Fans should be aware that the Lansdowne Road Dart Station will close at 4pm on May 22 and will not reopen on that date. All passengers intending to use Dart stations from 4pm will be directed to Grand Canal Dock or Sandymount stations, which will both operate as normal along with some additional management measures for queuing.

Pedestrians will cross the railway line at Lansdowne Road via the underpass at the Aviva and should not cross the tracks because the barriers will remain down from 4pm onwards.

Motorists should also be aware of the traffic diversions which will be in place on the day, when all south-bound traffic on Grand Canal Street will access Merrion Road via Haddington Road and Northumberland Road and will access Strand Road and Sandymount via South Lotts Road and Irishtown.

North-bound traffic will be diverted on Pembroke Road, Northumberland Road, Haddington Road and Grand Canal Street.

“Other rolling road closures may be required due to temporary fan movements, potential protest activity or other non-event road related incidents,” a garda spokesperson said.

“The traffic diversions and road closures will remain in force until the event is completed and the roads are free of pedestrian traffic. An Garda Síochána will ensure that traffic disruption is kept at a minimum across the city.”

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

spot_img