It’s just over 2km long, but Dublin Port’s new Tolka Estuary Greenway is being talked about a lot, and some people are wondering how to get there.
The main entrance to the greenway is via Eastpoint Business Park on Alfie Byrne Road between East Wall and Clontarf.
Regardless of whether you’re cycling or walking, you’ll go along Eastpoint Causeway and past the security hut into Eastpoint Business Park. Once past the security hut, people cycling will go straight on along the internal roads of the business park, and people walking turn left and use the old and narrow coastal path within the business park (which is not wide enough for cycling).
Public Transport (mainly without a bike)
Dublin Port’s greenway is one of the best-connected greenways to public transport. The options include:
Note: Only the train services carry full-sized bicycles; the bus services listed only carry covered folding bicycles).
- N4 orbital bus route: Goes from Blanchardstown to The Point Village and stops outside the Eastpoint Business Park. The route goes via Finglas, Glasnevin, DCU and Clontarf.
- Dart: Clontarf Road Dart station is around 10 minutes walk to the Eastpoint Causeway. When leaving the station, turn right and follow the bus-only route to the Alfie Byrne Road.
- NEW! N2 orbital bus route: The new N2 bus route started operating today from Heuston Station to Clontarf Road Station. It serves areas such as Stoneybatter, Blackhorse Avenue, Nephin Road, Broombridge, Ballyboggan Road, Old Finglas Road, Griffith Avenue, Marino/Fairview. Once at the Dart station, use the bus-only road to the Alfie Byrne Road. Same as from the Dart, it’s about a 10 minute walk to the Eastpoint Causeway.
- Luas Red line: Switch to the N4 Orbital at Spencer Dock (walk around the corner to New Wapping Street) or at The Point Village (North Wall Ave).
- Docklands Station (closed at weekends): Walk directly via East Wall or walk about 5 minutes to New Wapping Street and get on the N4 orbital bus.
- 53 Ferryport bus route: This route, which starts at Talbot St, is not very frequent, but it’ll give you a unique starting point from the ferry port and walking back to that end of the greenway! The 53 also stops at West Road in East Wall, which is a short walk to the Eastpoint Causeway.
- 151 bus route: 151 runs from Balgaddy Road in Lucan to East Road in East Wall, via Grange Castle, Clondalkin, Long Mile Road, Crumlin Road, Dolphin’s Barn, Patrick’s Cathedral, Eden Quay. From East Road, you can switch to N4 or walk to the
It is possible to walk from East Wall to the greenway entrance on Bond Road, but this requires walking on the footpath across from the entrance to the Port Tunnel (part of the M50 motorway) and across the main vehicular entrance to Dublin Port. It is even more strongly recommended not to cycle this route to the greenway.
By bike
In addition to being well connected by public transport, the greenway is also relatively well connected to cycle routes, which are a mix of low-traffic or mostly segregated.
It will also be much better connected when the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle route is finished and even more so when the Royal Canal Greenway is finished.
- S2S North, Dublin Bay cycle route: The S2S North starts at Sutten Cross entrance to Eastpoint Business Park is on the Alfie Byrne Road, which is on the southern end of the northern section of the Dublin Bay cycle route.
- Via Fairview Park: You can cycle along the short section of the River Tolka Greenway in the park to a new crossing of the Alfie Byrne Road and along the extended cycle path on that road to the Eastpoint Causeway.
- Via the Clontarf to City Centre route: Warning: This cycle route is under construction and is not fully open yet, so cycling in the bus lane for sections may be needed for now. Even on sections which are mostly finished, small sections may also be closed for localised snag works.
- Via the Royal Canal Greenway (Docklands to North Strand Road section): From the Docklands, you can connect to the Clontarf to City Centre route (see warning above) at North Strand Road and then onto the River Tolka Greenway in Fairview Park.
- Via the Grand Canal Cycleway: The Grand Canal route links to greenway via Grand Canal Quay and Grand Canal Square, over the Samuel Beckett Bridge and along the Royal Canal Greenway and onto the Clontarf Route and the Fairview Park route as above.
- Dart: Clontarf Road Dart Station is the nearest Dart station, but note that it can be tricky with bicycles as the station is elevated, and the lifts are often out-of-order.
- From Howth: With a bollard-protected cycle lane most of the way from Howth Dart station to the S2S North as above, you can make a longer cycle nearly all off-road.
- Via Griffith Ave: From the lightly segregated Griffith Ave route you can avoid the busy Malahide Road by cycling via the quieter streets in Marino an then onto the Clontarf to City Centre route as far as the Alfie Byrne Road.
MAIN IMAGE: Dublin Port, MAP: IrishCycle.com
The cycling directions section really starts to illustrate the network effect of developing these interconnected greenways and cycle routes. The way finding too of being able to direct people using connections between routes is excellent. I’d love to see the introduction of physical signposting at junctions on these cycle routes indicating destinations and the advised route like for example a sign at the intersection of the C2CC and RCG pointing along the yet to opened section when it’s ready saying “Phibsborough (via Royal Canal Greenway)” or the opposite direction saying “Grand Canal Dock and Greenway (via Royal Canal Greenway)”
I cycled it at the weekend and it looks fantastic. Some great views back across clontarf and howth that you don’t normally get to see
But it just ends in the middle of the port which means you either turn around and back the way you came or try to exit the port among all the trucks (not really ideal)
Also as it’s mixed use you end up caught up behind joggers and walkers, but saying that it was a nice relaxing cycle.
What is a “covered folding bike”? Am I supposed to have a cover for my (folding) e-bike if I want to bring it on a bus? Why?! Who knew?!
Hi, yes, you are supposed to have a cover for your folding bike. However, Dublin Bus has removed mention of it from their website’s FAQ and its not in their Terms of Carriage.
Maybe you have a more positive experience, but the long-standing advice from people who bring folding bikes on Dublin Bus was to hide the fact it was a bicycle from the driver with something, even a black bag; otherwise, you might get a driver who dislikes bicycles and refuses you based on nothing much at all.
Bus Éireann tend to be better, but I’ve had one try to charge me because it’s on the large size of folding bikes. It was years ago now, but he tried to claim that it was oversized and didn’t have an answer when I asked if he charged the people with large bags which were around the same size.
I cycled this yesterday and it is a credit to all concerned, finished to a very high standard of materials, information panels, historic artefacts, benches, planting and a great surface. It was very popular yesterday morning – cyclists, pedestrians, dog walkers – and deserves to be. Unfortunately, despite the signage saying clearly that it is a shared space and four legged friends are welcome on a short lead, we encountered two sets of people with dogs off lead. One couple responded positively and promptly put the lead on the dog, the others ignored us and continued. Having been brought to the ground (and subsequently to A&E on a Sunday afternoon in 2018) by playing dogs on the Clontarf Cycleway, I am very nervous of off lead dogs. Wonderfully informative bulletins in the past few days Cian, thank you1
Do you walk back the same way or exit somewhere else ?
You return the same way… unless you want to walk the extra bit to the Ferryport building and wait for the infrequent 53 Ferryport bus route back towards the city centre.
Or take a ferry!
Got talking to a few cyclists on the Greenway yesterday who obviously hadn’t seen this article and were very confused about how to safely get there. Coming out on to Alfie Byrne Road there is a new mega-sign for Eastpoint Business Park and, behind it, a tiny red one directing people to the Greenway. From what I could see, there were no signs at either end of Alfie Byrne Road nor at Annesley Bridge. I presume it is up to the Council to provide these as they are well outside both the Port and Eastpoint properties.
I agree in its present state that cyclists should use the internal Eastpoint roads to get to the Greenway but it would be great to see the existing attractive waterside path widened and upgraded for shared cycling and walking use.