Sports fans will take the roads this weekend as the All Ireland football final gets underway in Dublin, guaranteeing traffic congestion and chaos for parts of the country.
More than 82,000 fans are expected to attend the All-Ireland Minor and Senior Football finals on Sunday in Croke Park, with Kerry taking on Tyrone in the senior final, and Mayo facing up to Tyrone in the minor final.
Gardaí are warning motorists to expect traffic congestion in the area before throw-in for the first match at 1.30pm, and the senior final which gets underway at 3.30pm, and immediately after the match finishes at about 5pm.
Supervised car parking is available at Clonliffe College, Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra, with access to the facility via Lower Drumcondra Road and at O Connell's Schools, North Richmond Street. However, gardaí said motorists will not be able to leave the car park for about 45 minutes after the games, to allow pedestrians to leave the area safely.
A cordon will be in place, restricting access to areas around Croke Park, including the Lower Drumcondra Road, Clonliffe Road, Ballybough Road and Clonliffe Avenue.
Fans travelling to games are advised to give themselves plenty of time to alow for traffic congestion. The Dublin Port Tunnel will be open to all traffic.
In rugby this weekend, Leinster take on the Ospreys in the Magners League at the RDS tonight, with the game getting underway at 7.30pm. Motorists should expect increased traffic volumes in the area as a result. Those travelling to the match can avail of public transport in the area, including bus and Dart services.
In Galway, Connacht will take on Glasgow at 6.30pm in the Connaught Rugby Galway Sports Ground.
Munster take on the Cardiff Blues at Musgrave Park in Cork tomorrow, with the match beginning at 7.30pm. Extra traffic is expected in the vicinity of the stadium, on the N27/South City Link Road and N28/South Ring Road before and after the match.
Meanwhile, up to 200,000 culture fans are expected to converge on Dublin, Waterford, Galway, Limerick and Cork this evening as the first national Culture Night kicks off, with a number of free events laid on for attendees, including music, dance and drama workshops.
Dublin Bus is providing free transport between events.
In other sports events, the Lifestyle Sports-Adidas Dublin Half Marathon takes place tomorrow, with a number of roads closed off in the Phoenix Park to accommodate the event. Acres Road, Military Road and Wellington Road will be closed from 10am to 12.30pm, while access to Upper Glen Road will be restricted from 8am to 2.30pm. A number of gates into the park will also be closed, with the Chapelizod Gate shut from 10am to 2pm, the Islandbridge Gate from 10am to 1pm, Knockmaroon Gate from 8am to 2.30pm, and the Castleknock Gate and Ashtown Gate from 9.30am to 10.45am.
Delays in the Phoenix Park area are expected.
The outlook for the weather this weekend more positive than in recent weeks, with the wet weather making way for sunny spells throuhout the country - although Met Éireann is predicting some drizzly showers in places.
Tomorrow is set to get off to a misty start, but the drizzle should clear in time for the afternoon and will become dry and mild, with highest temperatures between 16 and 19 degrees.