The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from trackways suitable only for walkers and horses, to surfaced roads including modern motorways. Driving is on the left-hand side of the road. The major routes were established before Irish independence and consequently take little cognisance of the border other than a change of identification number and street furniture. Northern Ireland has had motorways since 1962, and has a well-developed network of primary, secondary and local routes. The Republic started work on its motorway network in the early 1980s; and historically, the road network there was once somewhat less well developed. However, the Celtic Tiger economic boom and an influx of European Union structural funding, saw national roads and regional roads in the Republic come up to international standard quite quickly. In the mid-1990s, for example, the Republic went from having only a few short sections of motorway to a network of motorways, dual carriageways and other improvements on most major routes as part of a National Development Plan. Road construction in Northern Ireland now tends to proceed at a slower pace than in the Republic, although a number of important bypasses and upgrades to dual carriageway have recently been completed or are about to begin.
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.
Carrigaline is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of Cork city, and with a population of 15,770 people, it is one of the largest commuter towns of the city. The R611 regional road passes through the town, and it is just off the N28 national primary route to Ringaskiddy. Carrigaline grew rapidly in the late 20th century, from a village of a few hundred people into a thriving commuter town although some locals still refer to it as "the village". The town is one of the key gateways to west Cork, especially for those who arrive by ferry from France. Carrigaline is within the Cork South-Central Dáil constituency.
Turners Cross is a ward on the south side of Cork City, and home to the Roman Catholic parish of the same name.
A regional road in the Republic of Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route, but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three-digit route numbers, prefixed by "R". The equivalent road category in Northern Ireland are B roads.
The N20 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting the cities of Cork and Limerick. Buttevant, Croom, Charleville, Mallow and Blarney are major towns along the route. A short section of the route is motorway standard and is designated as the M20 Motorway.
The R445 road is a regional road in Ireland. The route is a non-motorway alternative route to the N7/M7 motorway between Naas and Limerick, and at 170 km it is one of the longest regional roads in Ireland. Indeed, much of the route comprises roads that were formerly part of the N7 between the cities, prior to motorway and other bypasses. Some of the R445 route also comprises local link roads to new N7/M7 route sections.
The N28 road is a national primary road in Ireland. It connects the port and village of Ringaskiddy to the N40 South Ring Road in Cork city.
Douglas is a suburb, with a village core, in Cork city, Ireland. Douglas is also the name of the townland, Roman Catholic parish, Church of Ireland parish and civil parish in which it is contained.
Belgooly (Irish: Béal Guala is a village in County Cork, Ireland, located 4.6 kilometres to the north-east of Kinsale. In 2016 it had a population of 826.
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and third largest city on the island of Ireland. It is located in the Southern Region and in the province of Munster. In the 2022 census, the first following an extension to the city's boundary in 2019, the city had a population of 222,333.
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 R618 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs west-east from the N22 bypass in Carrigaphooca, west of Macroom along the northern banks of the River Lee to rejoin the N22 at Carrigrohane near Cork City. The road passes through Carrigadrohid, Coachford and Dripsey en route. The point where the R618 leaves the N22 on the outskirts of Cork is known as Kerry Pike. The road was once part of the main route between Cork and Kerry.
The R667 road is a regional road in Ireland. The route runs from its junction with the N8 1 km from Kilworth for approximately 5 km until it meets the R666 road northeast of Fermoy. The R667 was once part of the main road from Dublin to Cork, and was mapped as such by Herman Moll in his New Map of Ireland in 1714. The road is located entirely in County Cork.
The R576 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs west to east leaving the N21 national primary road in County Kerry at Feale's Bridge and ending at the N72 secondary road east of the town of Kanturk in County Cork.
Cloghroe is a village and townland on the R579 road in County Cork, Ireland. It is 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Cork, close to Inniscarra and Tower. The Sheep River runs to the rear of the local pub Blairs Inn on the western side. The Wayside Inn is at the eastern end of the village. The origin of the name Cloghroe is from the Irish cloc rua meaning "red stone", which is common in the natural geography of the land. Cloghroe House is situated en route to the Inniscarra Community Centre. It was built in the middle of the 18th century and became the home of Elizabeth, second daughter of Joseph Capel, descended inherited residence of Sir Joseph Capel Judkin-Fitzgerald 4th Bt of Lisheen who died in 1917. Cloghroe village is a linear settlement consisting of one row of houses on each side of the road.
The R624 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs from the south-east of the N25 in Tullagreen, County Cork to Cobh town centre. It runs to several of County Cork's tourist attractions, including Fota Wildlife Park.
The N40 road is a national primary road in Cork City, Ireland. It is partial ring road skirting the southern suburbs of the city, from the N22 west of Ballincollig, via the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the River Lee, to the Dunkettle Interchange where it meets the N25 and N8/M8. The present N40 designation was created on 23 February 2012 via statutory instrument from parts of both the N22 and N25 built from 1990 onwards. The N40 serves as both a commuter route and a bypass of the city centre for traffic between parts southwest and east. The National Transport Strategy envisages building a "Cork North Ring Road" to complete the circuit in the 2030s.
