The N8 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting Cork with Dublin via the M7. The N8 is further classified by the United Nations as the entirety of the European route E 201, part of the trans-Europe International E-road network. The road is motorway standard from junction 19 on the M7 to the Dunkettle interchange in Cork City and is designated as the M8 motorway. From here the route continues into Cork city centre and terminates at the N22 road at St. Patrick's Street. The M8 motorway was completed in May 2010, replacing the single carriageway sections of the old N8 and bypassing towns on the main Cork to Dublin road. It is now possible to travel from Cork to Dublin on the M/N8 in about 2 hours 30 minutes. The route commences just south of Portlaoise, and reaches Cork via the midlands and the Golden Vale of Ireland, through Counties Laois, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick and Cork.
Athy is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 makes it the sixth largest town in Kildare and the 50th largest in the Republic of Ireland, with a growth rate of approximately 60 per cent since the 2002 census.
The N9 road is a national primary road in Ireland running from Junction 11 on the M7, located near Kilcullen, County Kildare, to Waterford city. The route connects Dublin and Waterford. The section of the route from junction 11 on the M7 at Kilcullen to the intersection with the N24 road outside Waterford is motorway standard since 2010 and is designated as the M9 motorway. In line with Irish practice, all sections previously designated N9 were renumbered at that time. Only a short (550-metre) section of the route is still designated as N9 between the Quarry roundabout junction with the N24 and the N25 Grannagh Roundabout junction. This section is dual carriageway.
Castledermot is an inland village in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare, about 75 km (47 mi) from Dublin, and 10 km (6.2 mi) from the town of Carlow. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford previously passed through the village but upon completion of a motorway bypass in 2010, it was re-designated the R448.
Kilcullen, formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. Its population of 3,473 at the 2011 census made it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growing in the county, having doubled in population from 1,483 in the census of 2002. By 2016, the population had risen to 3,710. It is situated primarily in the Barony of Kilcullen, with a part in the Barony of Naas South, and subsidiary areas include Logstown, Harristown, Carnalway and Brannockstown, Gilltown, Nicholastown, and Castlemartin.
The R747 road is a regional road in Ireland running north-west/south-east from the M9 near Ballitore in County Kildare to Arklow in County Wicklow, a distance of 66 km (41 mi).
The R639 road is one of Ireland's regional roads. Once designated the N8 national primary road, it was reclassified in stages as the R639 following the progressive opening of sections of the M8 motorway, which rendered the single carriageway N8 redundant as a national primary road. By-passed sections of the old N8 were generally reclassified as R639 as soon as a new section of M8 opened, thereby increasing the length of the R639. With the completion of the M8 on 28 May 2010, the R639 now stretches from Durrow, County Laois to Cork, running through counties Laois, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick and Cork.
The N78 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. The 50-kilometer-long (31 mi) road links the N77 national secondary road north of Kilkenny, County Kilkenny to the M9 national primary route at Mullamast in County Kildare. En route it passes through the towns of Castlecomer in County Kilkenny, Ballylynan in County Laois, and Athy in County Kildare. It is single carriageway throughout.
The R724 road is a regional road in County Carlow, Ireland. From its junction with the R448 at Royal Oak on the western edge of Muine Bheag Town it takes an easterly route crossing the River Barrow, the R705 regional road and the Dublin – Kilkenny railway line in the town.
The R415 road is a regional road in Ireland, which runs north-south from its junction with the R403 in Allenwood to the R448 at Crookstown, passing through Kildare town, and crossing the N78 between Kilcullen and Athy. The route is entirely within County Kildare.
Crookstown is a village in the south of County Kildare, Ireland. It lies in the townland of Crookstown Upper on the R448 road where it meets the R415 regional road, about 75 km (47 mi) south of Dublin. It has a few hundred inhabitants, a church, a primary school, a petrol station/rest area on the N9, restaurant and small hotel and some craft shops. It is less than one kilometre from the larger neighbouring village of Ballitore, and Crookstown is treated as part of Ballitore for census purposes.
Calverstown is a small village in County Kildare, Ireland. It lies 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the town of Kilcullen and about 16 km (9.9 mi) from each of the towns of Athy, Kildare, Naas and Newbridge. It is an old settlement located close to the archaeological sites of Dún Ailinne and Old Kilcullen. The village has a stream running through it with another to the south. As of the 2016 census, Calverstown had a population of 699.
The R413 road is a regional road in Ireland, which runs west-east from Kildare to Ballymore Eustace, all in County Kildare. En route, it skirts, and largely demarcates, 10 km (6.2 mi) of the northern edge of the Curragh.
The R417 road is a regional road in Ireland, which runs north-south from the R445 in Monasterevin, County Kildare to the R448 in Carlow, County Carlow.
The M9 motorway is a motorway in Ireland linking the M7 between Naas and Newbridge near Kilcullen to Waterford. Opened in sections between 1994 and 2010, the final section opened on 9 September 2010.
Timolin is a village in the south of County Kildare, Ireland. It is located off the R448 road, the former N9 road about 80 km (50 mi) south of Dublin. It is a small village, with less than a hundred inhabitants, one shop and two pubs. It is located close to the Moone High Cross Inn. The closest village to Timolin is Moone, less than 1 kilometre to the south.
The R448 road is a regional road in Ireland. It is the designation given to the former N9 national primary road when it was bypassed by the M9 motorway.
Old Kilcullen, formerly Kilcullen, is a townland in County Kildare, Ireland, which includes a noted religious archaeological site within its boundary. As a townland it is relatively large but lightly populated. The location of the townland is roughly contained within the R418 and R448 routes starting at its most northerly point, a crossroads known locally as Thompson's Cross. The townland continues south from this point as far as Harklow and is intersected in its north east corner by the M9 motorway at Abbeyaun. Old Kilcullen was formerly the site of a walled town, and before that of an ecclesiastical settlement dating from the 5th century. The original settlement gave its name to the substantial surrounding civil parish and barony.
Kilmead, known for census purposes as Kilmeade, is a small village in County Kildare, Ireland. It is on the R418 road and is approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) from Athy.
The 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, formally titled the IV Coupe Internationale, was a motor race held on 2 July 1903, on the Athy Circuit consisting of closed roads in Ireland. The race consisted of seven laps - alternating for six laps over a shorter circuit to the west of Athy and longer circuit to the East, before a final lap on the longer circuit to make the total distance 527 km. A British entry had won the previous edition of the race, which meant that the rights to host the race fell to the Automobile Club of Britain and Ireland. Legislation was passed to allow the race to take place on roads in Ireland, then a part of the United Kingdom. Britain were to attempt to defend the Gordon Bennett Cup against France, Germany and the USA, and each country was represented by three entries, with the car that finished the race in the shortest time winning the race on behalf of his country.
