On the road to the ploughing – traffic updates and smooth arrival

Irish Rail has confirmed that they will carry thousands of visitors to the National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore on their frequent train services.

Shuttle buses have been arranged to coincide with arrival and departure times at stations in Portarlington and Tullamore. These will bring visitors to and from the site grounds.

Transport for Ireland have published advice on how to get there and where to go when you arrive at the site.

Car Parks

A wide range of car parks are located near the Trade Exhibition Arena and upon arrival visitors will be directed to the nearest available car park.

Electric car charging facilities will not be available in the event car parks, as these are temporary parking areas set up for the duration of the event. For the exact locations of the nearest charging points to the event, visit https://chargemap.com

All routes to the event are colour coded with matching car parks for each route.

Colour-coded signage is displayed at the entrance and exit of each car park. Take note of the image on the sign when you enter or leave.

For directions and Parking details check out below for the

• Blue route – Traffic from Cork / Munster

• Grey route – Traffic from South East (Kilkenny)

• Yellow Route – Traffic from the South East (Carlow)

• Brown Route – Traffic from Limerick, Kerry and Southwest

• Purple Route – Traffic from Dublin

• Pink Route – Traffic from the North

• Green Route – Traffic from the West

• Orange Route – Traffic from the North

  Times and events

The Trade Exhibition Arena will open at 9.00am and close at 6pm.
Visitors are not guaranteed access to the site after 3pm due to traffic plan restrictions.
Entry gates will close at 4pm.

• Ploughing Competitions take place from 10.30am to 2.30pm

• Other activities include:

  • Entertainment Programme: 10.00am – 6pm.

  • Fashion Shows: 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm.

  • Dedicated disability parking is available in designated car parks.

• To ensure proper access, the official Government issued Disability Parking Permit must be clearly displayed in the front windscreen of your vehicle upon arrival, so stewards can direct you to the correct car park.

• All internal roadways within the Trade Exhibition Arena are double-tracked to facilitate disabled access around the site.

• Disability access toilets are provided in every toilet block and in each Disability Car Park.

• A designated bicycle parking area will be available in car parks on either side of the event site. Again make sure to follow the signage for bicycle parking on arrival.

• Read Next: What to bring to the National Ploughing Championships

• Transport for Ireland is advising people to expect delays and to allow for extra time.

  Follow Garda directions and forget the sat nav they say.