HELLO AND A very good morning.
Welcome to Monday’s commuting liveblog.
We’ll be with you until after 9am as another working day gets underway.
Stick with us for all the latest traffic, travel and weather updates from across the country.
That’s it from the commuting liveblog for this morning.
We’ll be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning.
Here’s what it looks like at the Red Cow at the moment…
By the way, don’t forget the main 1916 centenary ceremonies take place in Dublin on Sunday next and there’ll be traffic restrictions as a result.
You’ll find details on the official 2016 site – and of course we’ll keep you up to date on the celebrations, and the practicalities on how to get there, on TheJournal.ie throughout the week.
Some news just in on an incident likely to cause major tailbacks on the N7 Naas Road.
The slip from the N7 outbound to the M50 northbound is now closed due to an overturned truck.
More as we get it.
Details coming in of another rescue, on what was a busy weekend for emergency services around the country.
Our reporter Cormac Fitzgerald writes:
“Four teenagers had to be rescued after they became stranded on an island on the River Shannon last night.
“Limerick Fire and Rescue Service received a call last night at about 8pm to alert them to four male teenagers who had gotten into trouble while out walking near the University of Limerick.
“The group became stranded on an island on the main area of the river, near the beginning of the Canal/Guinness Bridge.
“Three units from the Limerick City Fire Service attended the scene. When they made contact with the group they sent out inflatable rescue craft and carried all four to safety.
“The group were all treated by paramedics on the scene. No one was seriously injured.
“It is believed that the group had become disorientated while at the island and had contacted emergency services themselves as a result.”
If you’re trying to book a rail ticket for next weekend, meanwhile, you may experience some problems…
Plenty of you have been out enjoying the fine weather over St Patrick’s Day and the weekend.
Latest word from the folks at @LiveDrive, who are based at the Dublin City Council traffic management centre, is that, yes, it is very quiet.
That’s all set to change this week though, by the looks of it – it will get a lot wetter and cloudier from tomorrow.
Here’s the forecast for Thursday, for instance, from Met Éireann:
“Thursday: Breezy and wet during the morning, with widespread rain at first and fresh southerly winds.”
Nice while it lasted, wasn’t it?
An interesting note from Dublin Fire Brigade. Apparently there’s been no rain to speak of in the area since the 12th of this month – a week ago last Saturday.
They tweeted this yesterday, but it didn’t rain last night either…
Around the country…
Traffic is said to be moving well in Limerick and Waterford. According to AA Roadwatch:
Of course, most schools are off this morning as Easter holidays begin so we can expect traffic to be lighter on many routes.
That said, traffic is building in all the usual areas.
Here are the main points in Dublin, from AA Roadwatch:
In Dublin,
Emergency services are dealing with debris in the left turn lane on the Rock Road inbound at Frascati Shopping Centre, in Blackrock – according to AA Roadwatch.
Investigations are also under way into last evening’s tragedy in Buncrana in which five people lost their lives after a car entered the water.
In Co Longford, two investigations are taking place after a man died in a light aircraft crash.
Gardaí have confirmed that road crash in Roscommon, on the N61, was a fatal one.
Here’s the full story:
“A 40-year-old man has died following a road crash in Roscommon yesterday.
“Two cars collided at Carramore around 2km outside Roscommon Town at around 11.20pm last night.
“The man who died was the driver of one of the cars. He was rushed by ambulance to Ballinasloe General Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
“A 44-year-old woman who was driving the second car was injured in the crash, as was her 15-year-old female passenger.
“Both were taken to Tullamore General Hospital for treatment to non life-threatening injuries.
“Forensic tests will be carried out this morning at the scene, and a section of the road remains closed.
“Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Roscommon Garda Station on 090 663 8300, to call the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111 or contact any Garda Station.”
Don’t forget – there’s an air traffic control strike in France and it’s having a knock-on effect here.
Ryanair has cancelled dozens of its flights. Other flights will be delayed.
The airline said last night that customers would be updated on their flight status via email and/or the mobile phone number they provided at the time of booking.
A full list of affected flights from the airline can be read here.
In a statement, Ryanair said it “sincerely apologises for any delays or inconvenience caused by these disruptions which are outside of our control”.
Other airlines including easyJet and British Airways are also affected, and people are advised to contact individual airlines for updates.
Elsewhere,
Recovery services are responding to a car that was on fire between Killea and Bridgend in Donegal, AA Roadwatch says.
And according to the service, works will take place on the N17 between Ballynacarrow North and Cloonacurra in Sligo this morning from 10am to 4pm.
According to AA Roadwatch, the N61 is closed between Roscommon Town and Ballymurray due to a crash.
Heading towards Athlone, diversions are in place via Curraghboy. Motorists heading to Roscommon can divert at Curry Cross.
In Dublin there’s a truck broken down on Fosters Avenue in Dublin 4.
A quick look at the weather first, from Met Éireann:
“Mist and fog will clear gradually this morning, giving way to a dry day, with a few bright or brief sunny spells, but mostly cloudy.
“There is a small chance of a few spots of drizzle on north or northwest coasts at first.
“Maximum temperatures 8 to 11 Celsius, in light westerly or variable breezes.”
Daragh Brophy with you this morning – if you spot anything we should know about tweet me at @DaraghBroph or email daragh@thejournal.ie.
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