We’re off on our travels again, this time to Celtic Park in Derry at the other end of the Island. The last time we played Derry in Celtic Park was back in 2010 in round 4 of the league (where we won by a goal, 2-12 to 1-12). Mayo Club ’51 will of course be making the journey north, some of us will be travelling up on Saturday and others on Sunday morning. The game throws in at 2.30pm and the referee is Ulsterman Ciaran Branagan, who will hopefully have a good day at the office!
This isn’t actually our car, despite its regular appearance on this website. If this is your car, get in touch!
Getting There and Parking
Celtic Park, Derry. Green and red, a grand-looking spot
We’ll leave you to find the ground using our map below, but by all accounts it’s easy to get to. Parking is not too bad at all around Celtic Park – there is plenty of on-street parking within walking distance. No concerns there whatsoever! This is all sounding very easy.
Anyone travelling in from the Letterkenny side will come in by the Brandywell, home of Derry City Football Club which is located beside Celtic Park. There is parking along this area. People travelling through Strabane will come in towards the city centre but turn left at the first bridge across the Foyle. You will come down by the Bogside.
If coming via Dublin you will arrive on the other side of the river. Cross the Craigavon bridge then at the end take a left, you can then travel to the lights, a left turn or straight on will give you a space near the ground.
Bus Travel
Our friends in the The Sea Rod Inn Doohoma are organising their customary bus on the day – contact Barrett Coaches 09783544 or Sean MC on 0851698851 for details.
Corduff Travel will be leaving from Westport and have package deals – contact them on 097 88949.
TMG Transport will be leaving Swinford,(details to follow) – contact them on 094 9044534.
There’s a bus leaving from Shrule/Glencorrib on Sunday too – contact Tom Sheridan on 087 925 6326 for details.
We’ve no knowledge of anyone organising a bus from Dublin though we’ve been contacted by a few people enquiring about same. If you’re interested in organising a bus or travelling on one, or indeed doing some car pooling, please leave a comment below. Otherwise the 6am from Busáras is your best bet (there’s a 10am too that arrives in Derry at 2pm but you may be cutting it fine …). Timetable here.
Accomodation
Most people traveling up to Derry the night before will have already booked accommodation. However if you haven’t booked yet, you might still be in luck! We have found this site here offering discounts to travelling supporters, Derry GAA Hotel Offers – quote “Visit Derry GAA 2015″ at time of booking.
Our spies have informed us that The Drummond Hotel in Ballykelly which is about 13 miles from Derry are doing a special rate for Mayo supporters too.
And the Waterfoot Hotel is a nice spot with a few Mayo heads already booked in.
On the town
If there is anyone staying in Limavady on the Saturday night make sure to call into Frank Owens’ Bar on Main Street, wherethey will have music and a FREE BBQ!! for all Mayo fans! Club 51 will be heading out from Derry in that direction along with what we hear half of Ballintubber and Claremorris, and it promises to be a great night. Visit their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/frankowensbar.
For those of you heading for town, Granny Annie’s Bar is a good spot.
And if anyone is ringing from the Republic in advance to book then dial 048 instead of 028!
Sunday Meet-up
(This is the part you’ve been waiting for, right?)
We usually have our regular meet-up on the morning of a match. There are not many hostelries around Celtic Park, the Bogside Inn a ten-minute walk way is the closest and that’s where we’re heading. Doors are open from 11.30am (unlike in Newbridge last year, we actually checked!) and there will be red and green (and black and lime) jerseys congregating there from 12pm – be sure and join us. Map below:
Flags
As it’s an away game, the more colour we can bring, the better. And the more noise we can make, the better. We’ll be giving our banners and flags their first proper airing this year, so help us out, bring your own and let’s make that stand a noisy sea of green and red.
Safe travelling and see you there!
PS: A sincere thank you to the very sound Niamh Morley, Joe Passmore, Jarlath Eoin and Mayo GAA for the helpful information. We’ll be updating as we hear more so check back often!
Tom Parsons reaches for the ball as Mayo defeat a second-string Derry team in Castlebar in 2014. Andy Moran meanwhile has spotted a UFO over MacHale Park. Pic: MichaelMaye.com
As the dust settles on our first FBD campaign under Noel and Pat, it’s time to start looking ahead to 2015 and to the first real competitive action of the season. With that, we turn our faces towards Killarney and the first Allianz National League game against the Kerrymen who broke our hearts below in Limerick last August. The less said about that the better, and as a new era begins, we will be getting behind our lads more than ever. On that note, it’s time for a quick update on the Club ’51 front on our plans for that game and for the subsequent games in the League.
Seating groups are a good way of getting groups of supporters together in grounds with allocated seating. They were a great success last year and more and more people are either setting up or joining groups as the club grows. This year, you can use either your Croke Park or your Cairde Maigh Eo season ticket to join a seating group, and we have all the latest information and have started the list of 2015 groups in our post over here. We’ve had loads of enquiries already from people interested in joining a seating group this year, so if you already have one with vacant spaces or would like to set one up, let us know and we’ll put you in touch.
Getting To Away Games
We’ll be doing our usual car pooling posts (keep an eye on our forum here or contact us on Facebook,Twitter or email). Anyone with space in a car or a bus that needs filling over the coming weeks let us know! We’ll have information on parking etc. on the site too in due course. Don’t forget the ‘fiver for the driver’!
Your car doesn’t have to look like this, but it helps
If anyone is organising buses to Killarney for 1st February, let us know and we’ll post them here. We have one so far:
The Sea Rod Inn, Doohoma are hoping to organise a bus – for queries contact Sean on 0851698851.
Pre-Match Meetups
From the first meeting in the Liffey Arms, Newbridge on 2nd Feb last year to various days out in Jury’s across from Croker these were a great success last year, so looking ahead to 2015 we’ll be continuing the new tradition of picking a pre-match meeting point close to the grounds for Mayo fans to congregate before games and grab a cuppa/lunch/tipple/whatever tickles your fancy. We’ll be announcing these here the week before games and are looking for suggestions for Killarney, Cork and Derry.
Similarly, there will be a good crew making their way to away game venues the night before so what better excuse to go for a couple of scoops and psyche out the opposition fans? We’ll also be making a weekend of the Dublin game so expect some Castlebar festivities to be announced close to St. Patrick’s weekend.
Sea of Green And Red
Image: Sean Óg Cafferkey
Part of the inspiration for Club ’51 came from these guys on Facebook who joined forces with us and were instrumental in making the Mayo support as loud and colourful as it was in 2014. We’re aiming for more of the same in 2015 and starting as we mean to go on. Last year Mayo revived an old tradition and we saw a huge increase in the number of flags at matches. Nowhere was it more evident than in the video below from the first Kerry game (scroll to 1.51). We want recreate the incredible atmosphere of that game many times again this year and you can play your part. If every household brings a flag, think of the spectacle we’ll create! So up you get into that attic and dig out the flags.
We have a number of Club ’51 flags, and if you’ve seen them in the grounds and want to get your hands on one of your own all the information you need is here.
Other Stuff
We’ll also be attempting to do the following over the coming months:
Organising more charity events after the success of our inaugural table quiz last year
More competitions – watch this space
Some more displays. This could be in the form of stick flags, banners or any other sort of visual display. We are eager to get people’s ideas on this so please don’t be shy, and if you’re feeling creative don’t hesitate to make your own flags or banners.
‘Everything’s Coming Up Mayo’ by Lorraine Kelly and Mike Kelly
How You Can Get Involved
Making Club ’51 a success takes time and effort, but it’s also great fun and the more people involved, the better. So if there’s anything you’d like to get involved with, or if you feel you can lend some expertise, we’d love to hear from you. Be that writing some guest posts, helping us on our social media sites, volunteering at our table quizzes or sponsoring some competition or quiz prizes, we’d be delighted to welcome you on board.
Bring your own flags, but we are also looking for 4-5 people to become flag custodians and wave our flags on match days. We have a good few people on this front but still have some that need a good, caring home with regular matchgoers – and an energetic arm!
That’s it for now …
.. but keep an eye out for updates, and spread the word ( you can share our posts on Facebook, retweet us, get our logo tattooed on your face, or just tell people you meet).
And most importantly, get out those flags, warm up the vocal cords and play your part in becoming the 16th man this year.
No matter which way you look at it, it’s pretty fair to say that the good old GAA has shafted us a bit this time out by packing ourselves and Kerry off to Limerick for the replay of the All-Ireland semi-final. In a decision that has angered pretty much everyone but Liam “Get On With It” O’Neill (who just couldn’t resist getting personal when Mayo raised objections), both sets of supporters are set for an almighty scramble for both tickets and car parking next Saturday. Plenty has been said about the decision, but we’re now at a point where protest is pointless, and our focus now needs to turn very firmly to getting behind the team at 5pm on Saturday in the Gaelic Grounds.
With that in mind, and also bearing in mind it’s not a ground most Mayo supporters are likely to be familiar with, we have once again pulled together some information for you on how to get there and where to park (if you’re driving). What we can’t help you with is getting out of Limerick after the game, but we’d strongly recommend you have a full tank of petrol and a mixtape at the ready ‘cos those tailbacks are going to be some craic on 8pm on Saturday night.
Anyway, here goes:
Travelling by Car?
If you’re taking the car, we have two magic words for you. Leave early! There’s no two ways about it – traffic will be chaotic, especially on the Mayo side. So leave yourself plenty of time. And consider car pooling as much as possible to cut down both on your costs and the traffic burden!
There will be two major bottlenecks – Claregalway and Clarinbridge. The former is difficult to get through on any day of the week. To avoid it, you can do the following:. Take the left turn just before the Mystical Rose Nursing Home, Knockdoe. Cross over the main Roscommon Road and continue for about 1.5 miles. Take a right at Cregmore school and you’ll exit onto the N18 close to Carnmore Cross. Roads are narrow here, so take care.
As for Clarinbridge, if you head out the old Dublin road, you can take the right turn for Kilcolgan at Craughwell – the roads aren’t great, but it’s an option to avoid that particular bottleneck.
Update:ROAD SAFETYWARNING Thanks to Angela Coll for this information – Will you let your supporters know that are driving to Limerick please note the following: On the Gort to Limerick motorway (Ennis bypass) the road between Exit 15 (Crusheen) and Exit 14 (Barefield), that when the road is wet (as it possibly will be this weekend) it is very dangerous stretch of motorway with numerous accidents. Clare Co Co have asked the NRA to investigate why there are always accidents on that stretch of road when it’s raining Please please slow down for that 15 minute stretch of road… Arrive alive!
Update:There’s a fair on in Clarinbridge too, so if you are travelling through, be prepared for delays.
UPdate: Castlegar GAA is organising 100k Steps for Cormac in aid of Pieta House which is starting at 1.30pm and will be passing through Clarinbridge.
Follow the road down from Ennis (N18), pass Bunratty Castle on your left
Leave the N18 at junction 4, then at roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the R445 (signposted Limerick City Centre)
At the next roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Ennis Road – R445
And at the next roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Ennis Road – R445 (signposted Limerick).
Continue forward onto Ennis Road – R445
At Coonagh Roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Ennis Road – R445 (signposted City Centre, Dublin N7)
At traffic signals continue forward onto Ennis Road – R857
The Gaelic Grounds will be on your left.
Coming from Dublin isn’t too bad – it’s motorway the whole way – so when you get to Limerick, stay on the motorway and just follow the signs for Galway until you see the sign for Thomond Park/Gaelic Grounds on your left.
Parking is difficult, as there is very little near the ground. We have been advised that parking in housing estates is not wise -there is a danger of clamping so best to stick to the official (or indeed, unofficial) car parks, listed below:
Car Parks In Limerick
Arthurs Quay car park: Sunday 10am to 8pm.
Aviary car park: 24hrs. Dock Sd behind Domino’s Pizza.
Barringtons car park: 7am to 7pm. Sheep St, beside Barringtons hospital.
City Centre car park: Thomas St.
Cornmarket Square car park: Upper Denmark St.
Ellen St car park: Ellen St.
Euro Car park: Charlotte’s Quay.
Howley’s multi story car park: Henry St.
Q-Park car park: Denmark St.
Q-Park Harvey’s Quay: Henry St.
Steamboat Quay car park: Steamboat Quay, Dock Rd.
Summer Street Car Park: Summer St.
The Potato Market car park: Merchant’s Quay.
Also consider the Jetland Shopping Centre car park (Dunnes/Woodies) on the Ennis Road (take the exit for Caherdavin),
Tesco at Coonagh Crossjust off the Ennis Road – both are 10-15 minutes walk to the ground.
Update:Na Piarsaigh GAA club is located close (1km) to the Gaelic Grounds and is opening up their parking (and bar) facilities. There are roughly 50 spaces – first come, first served.
Update: Limerick Institute of Technology on Cratloe Rd, will be open for parking (at a fee) from approximately 2pm on Saturday. LIT Campus is a 3 – 5 minute walk from the Gaelic Grounds.
Update:Limerick Camogie are opening a car park at Coonagh – €5 parking
Update:Shannon RFC will have limited secure parking in Thomand Park which is 10 min walk from the Gaelic Grounds. The bar in the clubhouse will be open for the day.
Here are the car park locations in Limerick in relation to the Gaelic Grounds (click on map to view full screen)
Car parks near the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.
Other things to note:
Update: The Limerick Pride Parade takes place at 2pm on Saturday in the city and there will be rolling road closures along the route from 1.30pm. It’ll be a riot of colour and fun so if you’re in the city be sure to try and catch it.
Update:UL Graduation Ceremonies are also taking place over the weekend, so there is likely to be some extra traffic around the city there too.
Update: We have it on good authority that Corrib Oil in Gort are offering free tea/coffee for drivers with their Mayo colours on- another reason to festoon yourselves in green and red!
Update: No need to worry about the road works between Ardrahan and Kilcolgan – Galway County Council have confirmed that the road will be fully open.
Update:Traffic notice from Limerick City Council: “Limerick City & County Council wish to advise Motorists, Road Users and Match Attendants (sic) that local traffic and parking prohibitions and road closures will operate on the Ennis Road (R857) and adjacent to the Gaelic Grounds on the Ennis Road, Limerick from 2pm on Saturday 30th August 2014. Match attendants are strongly advised to travel early and to park on and off street in and adjacent to the city centre and to allow ample time to walk to the Gaelic Grounds. Special off street match parking tariffs including overnight parking will be available at city centre car parks. Match attendants are advised that obstructive vehicle parking will be subject to tow away operations.
Park & Ride In Limerick
This is a facility run by Limerick Park and Ride (Mike Hynan Coaches) where you can leave your car at a hotel and get a shuttle bus to the Gaelic Grounds – handy if you don’t want the hassle of finding parking near the grounds. Parking is free at all three hotels, and seats on the buses are allocated on a first come, first served basis – so again, get there early, grab a bite to eat and hop on.
For those of you coming from Mayo direction, the Radisson Hotel service on the Ennis Road will start at 2pm. Cost: €6 return.
For those coming from Dublin, the Kilmurry Lodge Hotel Dublin Rd. from 2pm, return straight after match. Cost: €6 return
And for those of you making the trip from the south,Woodlands House Hotel Adare leaves at 3pm, return straight after match. But beware, you’re likely to be outnumbered by the Yerras! Cost: €10 return.
Please Note: Wheelchair accessible transport must be pre-booked – you can call Hynan Coaches on 061 381700 or email them here.
Update: Durty Nelly’s Park and Ride
This sounds like something else altogether, but lest there be any doubt, it’s a pub, offering transport to the game! There will be buses leaving Durty Nelly’s Pub at Bunratty Castle from 2.30 to 3.30pm, dropping off at Ivan’s, close to the Gaelic Grounds, and pick-up at the designated area. Price: €15 return and this includes a main course (Burger & Chips, Fish & Chips or Cajun Chicken). No booking is required, and the meal can be claimed before or after the game. Tickets for the park and ride service on sale in Durty Nelly’s on the day.
Update: Park and Ride from the City Centre:
Bus Eireann are running shuttle buses from the Limerick Bus Station on Parnell St. and from Henry St (near Dunnes Stores). These will run from approx. 2pm.
Travelling by Bus?
Please note: There are lots of private operators departing on Saturday and offering good deals direct to Limerick. Mayo Club ’51 strongly advises that you contact the bus operators directly first to book and confirm times of departure.
From Mayo:
TMG Transport : Leaving The Gateway Swinford Contact 094 9252156 or 087-8505045
Corduff Travel : travelling from Belmullet & Ballina. Contact 097-88949
Update: Lavan Coaches Kiltimagh – Buses departing from Post Office, Kiltimagh at 1pm and returning after the game. Booking essential – contact 086 867 6737 or 087 260 8852.
Update: Moran’s Coaches, Ballyhaunis – leaving the Square in Ballyhaunis at 11.45am, €15 return. Booking advised – call 094 9630346.
Update: Melletts Bus Swinford – Leaving Melletts pub Swinford at 11am sharp, booking advised, only 8 seats left – call 087 2573752.
Bus Eireann – best to give them a call about Expressway services, or check out their timetables online.
If you’re aware of any other operators going from Mayo, please get in touch with details and we’ll add them in.
From Dublin:
Dublin Coach– departs hourly from D’Olier St from 06.45 daily, and returns hourly on the half hour from Limerick City Centre (Arthur’s Quay) until for €20 return, but the last bus leaves at 20.45.
JJ Kavanagh Coaches – depart frequently from Dublin – but again, you won’t get the last bus on Saturday as it leaves at 17.15. Call 0818 333222 for details.
From Carrick-on-Shannon:
Bus leaving from Carrick-on-Shannon early on Saturday morning. Call Mary Keenan on 0872073633 for further details.
Travelling By Train?
Train transport down the west coast isn’t exactly the best, but there are options.. Don’t even attempt to go from Mayo by train, but from other places, it might be worth considering. Irish Rail are offering special fares on their website as follows:
From €5.99* each way from Galway, Oranmore and Athenry
From €9.99* each way from Banteer
From €10.99* each way from Milstreet and Rathmore
From €11.99* each way from Killarney
From €12.99* each way from Farranfore
From €13.99* each way from Tralee
From €14.99* each way from Dublin
Update: Extra Train to the All-Ireland Football Semi-Final Replay in Limerick
Depart Galway 12.15hrs
Oranmore: 12.24hrs
Athenry: 2.35hrs
Arr. Limerick 14.04hrs
Return train departs Limerick at 20.25hrs (8.25pm)
There is free parking in Oranmore Train Station for those who take the train (140 spaces). If any of you do decide to take the train, and manage to avail of the fares above, let us know!
Book on this page.
Travelling By Air?
Bringing your own plane? Hey, there’s always one! If you are planning on bringing your private jet, give these guys a call!
Staying Overnight?
We hate to break it to you, but you’ve left it a bit late to sort out your accommodation if you want to stay in Limerick on Saturday night. You’ll be doing well to find somewhere to lay your head at this point, especially as half of Croke Park had their beds booked from their smartphones before leaving the ground on Sunday, but other options worth considering are breaking the journey and stopping off in Ennis or Galway and making a night of it.
Gaelic Grounds seating plan(click on map to view full screen)
Gaelic Grounds Seating Plan
Tickets
If you haven’t got a season ticket, or obtained one through your club, there are still some available online here, for collection at the Gaelic Grounds – but you’ll need to move quickly. If you’re looking to buy, sell, or swap, use our ticket swap forum on our website (you’ll need to register first). Alternatively, contact us on Twitter or Facebook and we’ll do our best to help you out,.
If there’s anything we haven’t included here, get in touch with us and we’ll add it in. If you have time, do try and get to see a bit of Limerick City, and we’d highly recommend the famous Milk Market on Mungret St. for a wander and a bite to eat before the game (it’s open from 8am – 3pm).
Getting Home
MAKE SURE YOU USE THE BATHROOM. We cannot emphasise this enough.
Heading back to Mayo, we’ve been told that the Cratloe road (past LIT) is a good rat run – at Cratloe you can get back onto the N18. Narrow road in parts, so please be careful.
Anything else?
Once again, don’t forget your colours – display them with pride. Warm up the voices to replicate the fierce support you gave the team last Sunday.
And for God’s sake don’t forget the tae and sangwidges.
And as always, Bring the Colour and Bring the Noise!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptLearn More Here
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
This is a facility run by
Recent Comments