Portlaoise Parking

iDave

Hi I'll be heading to Portlaoise this Saturday (15/03/14) for the Laois v Meath NFL match.
I'll be heading from Dublin via the M7 and exiting at J17 onto the Abbeyleix road.
Just wondering where the place to park would be coming from that direction. Is Parkside an option or will it close before full time?

monflat

iDave wrote: »

Hi I'll be heading to Portlaoise this Saturday (15/03/14) for the Laois v Meath NFL match.
I'll be heading from Dublin via the M7 and exiting at J17 onto the Abbeyleix road.
Just wondering where the place to park would be coming from that direction. Is Parkside an option or will it close before full time?

They dont seem to let match traffic park in the car park at superquinn/supervalu


If you are there early enough park in maldron mid way if not anywhere along that road the abbeyleix side of portlaoise so u get away easy enuf

iDave

Thanks how far a walk from O'Moore is the Maldron?

ThirdMan

iDave wrote: »

Thanks how far a walk from O'Moore is the Maldron?

About 10 minutes. It's just a straight walk down. There's a food court in the Maldron as well with different sandwich bars, pizzeria, etc. Might be handy if you're looking for a quick bite after the game.

iDave

Grand might do that so. I presume its ok for non hotel residences to park there?
Open to other suggestions however.

monflat

iDave wrote: »

Grand might do that so. I presume its ok for non hotel residences to park there?
Open to other suggestions however.

Ye its a big meeting place lots of people go to gym to the food hall and lots of commuters park there

Get there early id say is there a match on before that one .?

If traffic is really bad like it does b at match time or u are late once you exit motorway park on abbeyleix road hard shoulder left exit. And its 15 mins walk but at least you will get space you could get stuck in a queue n have to turn around to go back the way

ThirdMan

iDave wrote: »

Grand might do that so. I presume its ok for non hotel residences to park there?
Open to other suggestions however.

The food court draws people in and out all day, so it's more of a commercial car park really. You shouldn't have any trouble, although I can't say what their exact policy is on match day.

Parking on the roadside outside the ground is standard practice as well. It's very informal, so just pull up anywhere. Get there reasonably early and you'll have no trouble whatsoever finding a spot. But the closer you are to the ground the longer it will take the get out of there. Your best bet is in or near the Maldron.

Claude Burgundy

A GAA match you say, go with the usual GAA parking.........anywhere you feel like it.

Hesh's Umpire

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

A GAA match you say, go with the usual GAA parking.........anywhere you feel like it.

Not anymore.
A lot of a restricted areas around the vicinity of the grounds these days.
You can pay around €4 to park in the Portlaoise GAA club grounds right beside the pitch if you don't fancy the walk down from the Maldron (I'd put it at more like 15 mins).

Claude Burgundy

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

Not anymore.
A lot of a restricted areas around the vicinity of the grounds these days.
You can pay around €4 to park in the Portlaoise GAA club grounds right beside the pitch if you don't fancy the walk down from the Maldron (I'd put it at more like 15 mins).

If that's so its good to hear. For too long those going to GAA matches have just parked whereever they felt like it. That still happens in Portarlington at McCann Park.

The Princess Bride

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

Not anymore.
A lot of a restricted areas around the vicinity of the grounds these days.

Really?
Was driving through last w/e and was the usual story.
Cars parked all over the place,owners not indicating, 'cause the rest of us should know that they always park at that shpot,at that angle,at 4.43pm,every match day!

OP,take the Maldron option.Makes sense.

Claude Burgundy

The Princess Bride wrote: »

Really?
Was driving through last w/e and was the usual story.
Cars parked all over the place,owners not indicating, 'cause the rest of us should know that they always park at that shpot,at that angle,at 4.43pm,every match day!

OP,take the Maldron option.Makes sense.

Just as i thought.........:rolleyes:

Hesh's Umpire

I was only responding to the "anywhere you like" part of Claude Burgundy's post.
Like I said, that's simply not the case anymore. You can't park "anywhere you like" when there's a game on in O'Moore Park.
Of course, there's eejits who'll park haphazardly, "all over the place" as it was put. You'll always have that anywhere, I'm afraid
Enjoy the game OP.

Hammer Archer

Apologies for piggybacking on Dave's thread, but would ye be able to suggest a decent pub near O'Moore Park to watch the rugby before the Laois game?

iDave

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Apologies for piggybacking on Dave's thread, but would ye be able to suggest a decent pub near O'Moore Park to watch the rugby before the Laois game?

I second this. I didn't factor in the rugby when I started the thread.

Hesh's Umpire

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Apologies for piggybacking on Dave's thread, but would ye be able to suggest a decent pub near O'Moore Park to watch the rugby before the Laois game?

Folks, none of the Portlaoise pubs are too near the pitch.
In fact, the aforementioned Maldron Hotel is as good a bet as any to watch it with free parking and a good food court adjacent. About 15 mins easy walk to the pitch and handy for the motorway.
The nearest pub to the pitch is O'Donoghues but I'm not sure if they show sport! Caseys and all the pubs in the Top Square will have it on though.

ThirdMan

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Apologies for piggybacking on Dave's thread, but would ye be able to suggest a decent pub near O'Moore Park to watch the rugby before the Laois game?

The nearest pubs are all in the top square, but you're better off walking down Main Street a bit. The following are in descending order:

Lethean is a pretty cool place. There should be a bit of a buzz in there for the match and they do nice food as well, so it's perfect if you're looking for lunch. It's the closest thing Portlaoise has to a trendy pub.

Sally's is liable to get any sort of a crowd, so I don't know whether to recommend it or not. But it'll be good craic in there if things kick off.

Delaney's is a huge pub, so it's hard to fill, but it should get a good crowd.

Ryan's is Portlaoise's so-called 'rough pub', but it's grand. There's guaranteed to be a bit of an atmosphere in there at least.

There's usually a bit of crowd for big games in Kavanagh's as well, and they're well equipped with screens (I think there's a big screen up stairs). It's probably the only place in town where you'll get bottles of craft beer.

Bergin's is Portlaoise's smallest pub, and they do a lovely pint of Guinness. It will feel like there's a crowd in there even if there isn't. So it's great for getting a bit of a buzz going.

De Bruin's is right next door to Bergin's. I don't like the layout of the place, but it gets a kind of a sports crowd and I'm sure it will be busy enough. There's often deals there as well so it might be good for a couple of cheap pints.

Don't watch the match in the Maldron. You'll fall asleep in there. Stretch your legs and spend a couple of quid in one of the bars. The town needs it. It's also a marginally quicker walk from any of the bars than it is from the Maldron.

hairycakes

I think they do allow you to park in the superquinn car park but there may be a charge? Correct me if I'm wrong though. I've parked there plenty of times for club matches last year, don't know if there's a difference with intercounty matches though.

If you are thinking for going to the town for the Rugby match beforehand (wouldn't recommend the Maldron to watch the match either), there used to be a little sneaky passageway just beside the FBD buildings, which is in the town, leading to their staff carpark. Coming from the Abbeyleix roundabout, you go straight through the first two roundabouts you see and at the third, turn left. FBD building will be on your left and it's either side of that. It's been a while since I parked there so maybe someone else could say if it can still be used.

Claude Burgundy

GAA game on last Saturday and cars parked EVERYWHERE, on the grass, on yellow lines etc......nothing changes

**Vai**

Maybe they can get a GAA car park once all the big Sky money rolls in. C'mon Murdoch, papa needs a nice clean lawn.