Anne Graham Chief Executive Officer of the national Transport Authority says that public transport in Dublin will continue all through the weekend with a service level that will be as close as possible to a normal weekend schedule.
She said: “While the papal visit and the events surrounding it will cause some disruption, it is important to point out that Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann, Bus Éireann and Luas will be operating a very comprehensive service on both Saturday and Sunday.
“An Garda Siochana will be setting up a Controlled Access Zone, but generally speaking, restrictions on private motorists entering the Zone do not apply to buses, trains and trams. In any case, those particular restrictions apply only on Sunday, although Gardai will be closing some roads as necessary on Saturday.
“So if people want to come into the city centre either to see the Papal procession on Saturday afternoon, or to do their shopping or to socialise, we would certainly encourage them to do so.
“And there are plenty of activities and events going on in the city centre on Saturday and Sunday. Theatres like the Olympia, the Gaiety, the Gate and the Abbey are all open for business. So too is Bord Gais Energy theatre in the Docklands.
“In addition, Heritage Week has a strong programme of events in Dublin this weekend.
“That’s not to say that there will be no restrictions or no disruptions to services in the city centre, because there will be. What is does mean though is that operators will be making every effort to get their customers as close as they can to where they want to go and need to be, throughout the weekend.
All the details on the transport arrangements are available in our events section.