Irish Rail warns Cork supporters that extra All-Ireland trains will be snapped up in record time

With all scheduled All-Ireland Sunday Cork trains to and from Dublin in time for the big match completely sold out, Iarnród Éireann has warned that while it intends to announce additional services later this week, they too will likely be snapped up in record time.

Following Cork’s dismantling of Dublin on Saturday, and Tipperary’s seeing off Kilkenny on Sunday, all Cork trains arriving in Dublin on Sunday, July 20 in time for the 3.30pm throw-in time are fully booked, while trains out of the capital after the match are also sold out.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said it hoped to be in a position to confirm additional All-Ireland Sunday trains for both Cork and Tipperary later this week.

“We will provide as many additional services as we can, but obviously that will be down to the available resources after we cover our scheduled services,” they said.

“We do know from experience from All-Ireland finals past that there is always huge demand on the rail.

“Obviously, the All-Ireland hurling final is almost always between two rail-connected counties – football can be different - and we know that no matter how many additional trains we get to operate, that they will sell out.” 

The spokesperson added that Iarnród Éireann would let the public know as soon as possible when additional trains would be laid on for the All-Ireland, but cautioned that they would likely be “almost an instant sell-out”.

Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, said that with Cork and Tipperary both headed for the All-Ireland hurling final, there needed to be an increase in all forms of public transport on the day.

“It is good to see Irish Rail already planning for this but it is completely unacceptable that Bus Éireann’s attitude for matches this year and last has been to shrug their shoulders and say they have no surge capacity,” he claimed.

“That should be planned for now. Drivers should be offered overtime and they should get extra buses on the road.” Bus Éireann has been asked for comment.

Mr Gould added that he had written to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) ahead of last weekend’s hurling semifinals and, he said, he had been “assured that the tolls would not be an issue for the semi-final”.

“This wasn’t the case and there were huge traffic jams all day Saturday with people trying to attend the match.

“This is dangerous on motorways and it cannot be allowed to happen again,” Mr Gould said.

With fans from both Cork and Tipperary using the toll booths at Portlaoise the day of the All-Ireland, Mr Gould suggested TII consider lifting the barrier for match traffic.

“They make more than enough money from tolls every other day of the year, this is about safety,” he said.

A spokesperson for TII pointed out that the Portlaoise toll is operated by a private company, and if tolls were lifted, the bill would simply be passed to the taxpayer.

They said TII would be “vigilant in our oversight” of the tolling operation on All-Ireland Sunday.

“It is imperative that the private operator understands the importance of such national events and staffs up accordingly,” they said.

“We would also advise that the public be aware that thousands of extra people will be on the road that day, and plan their journey around that.”