Public transport from Dublin city centre:
Maynooth is about 25 km west of downtown Dublin; you can make the trip by bus from Pearse St/Westmoreland St/South Quays (take 66, 67 or, in the 5--6pm rush hour, 66x), or by train from Connolly/Tara St./Pearse.
Note: Both Dublin Bus and Irish Rail change their timetable links frequently (bad Web practice!!), so if the above links are broken, you'll need to go to http://www.dublinbus.ie/ and http://www.irishrail.ie/ and find the timetables for yourself.
- Frequency and transit times There are 2-4 buses/hour which
take 45-75 minutes depending on time of day to get from Central Dublin
to Maynooth. Trains are less frequent, especially on Sunday, and
typically take about 35 minutes to get from Connolly to Maynooth. 66
and 67 buses share almost all stops in Dublin but they start from
different points in Maynooth: see map
(route 67A on the map was recently renamed 67).
- Last buses and trains
The last train to Maynooth leaves Connolly at 23:17 Monday-Saturday and
20:52 Sunday. The last regular bus leaves Dublin at 11:30pm Monday-Saturday
(route 66/67) and also Sunday (route 67 only). There is a limited bus service after midnight back to Maynooth on Friday and Saturday.
- One-way fares to/from Dublin (December 2011) The train
costs E3.40, while the bus costs E2.30 (66/67), E3.60 (66x), or E5.00
(67n after midnight). Longer term visitors might be interested in a
5-day Rambler card (E22.00) or a 10-pack of 90-minute tickets
(E19.00), which can be bought in many shops, or a Leap Card (reloadable
smart card offering discounts), which can be bought online.
Public transport from Dublin Airport:
There are frequent buses to central Dublin, both express (Aircoach and Airlink 747) and regular routes (16a and 41). You can then catch a bus or train to Maynooth (see above). For train connections, Airlink 747 to Busaras (Central Bus Station) brings you closest to Connolly Station. For bus connections, any bus will do: get off at O'Connell St (16a, 747), Lower Abbey St (41), or Westmoreland St (Aircoach), and walk to the 66/67 bus stop on Westmoreland St. The following map of central Dublin indicates where these streets are; note that Busaras is on Store St, and Connolly Station is at the intersection of Talbot St and Amiens St (both in upper right part of map). Express buses from the airport cost more than regular buses but have much more luggage space.
There is an alternative way: take a regular bus (16a or 41) from the airport as above but, before you get to the city centre, get off at Drumcondra rail station (ask the driver to alert you to the right stop). Most Connolly-Maynooth trains stop at Drumcondra. Compared with travelling via the city centre, this route is often faster for Airport-Maynooth, and is almost always faster for Maynooth-Airport, because buses to the airport (16a and 41) pass by Drumcondra station frequently.
Getting a taxi to Maynooth:
I recommend that visitors use a Maynooth-based taxi to come here from Dublin Airport rather than an airport taxi because the driver will always know where Maynooth is, and the fare will be significantly less. The first reason is not a joke: we have occasionally been told of Dublin Airport taxi drivers having difficulty finding Maynooth. Maynooth taxi drivers all know where the University is, and often even know specific on-campus locations such as Logic House or Conference and Accommodation.
Here are a few numbers of Maynooth-based taxis; omit the +353-1- prefix if you are already in the Dublin-Maynooth area.
| Express Cabs | +353-1-628-9999 |
| MCL Cabs | +353-1-628-6539 |
| Major Minor Cabs | +353-1-601-6160 |
You can prebook a Maynooth taxi for no extra cost with any of the above companies before you fly so that the driver will be waiting to meet you when you arrive; they'll ask for your flight number so that the driver can check for flight delays. If you don't pre-book, you typically have to wait a half-hour or more for a Maynooth-based taxi to arrive.
This system isn't perfect, so keep the phone number on you in case you don't see the driver on arrival. If your flight was late and the driver neglected to check this, he may have already come and gone, so you might need to call back to get the driver to return to the airport. If you call one of the above companies from the airport, they'll likely ask if you have a mobile phone to facilitate meeting you. If you don't, they typically suggest a meeting point in the arrivals area (Vodafone shop if Terminal 1: there are seats nearby).
There are several reasonable ways of driving from the airport to Maynooth. One route is via dual carriageways (highways), but other routes use narrow winding country roads. Don't worry if the taxi driver takes one of the latter routes!
The Maths and Stats Dept: where is it?
The Department is in Logic House, on the South Campus of NUIM. After entering the main gate of the University, keep going left and you are sure to find it!
My on-campus accommodation: where is it?
Reception for South Campus accommodation is in the building in front of you as you enter the main gate of the South Campus. More precisely, it is left of centre in that building, under an arch (indicated as location 11 on the South Campus map).
Reception for North Campus accommodation is in the Student Residence area of the North Campus;it is indicated as location 2 on the North Campus map.
If it is possible that you will arrive after 23:00, contact Conference and Accommodation before you travel, and they will leave your key with security at the lodge inside the South Campus gate.
Here is a sketch of the main roads and some of the landmarks in Maynooth; the railway station and bus stops are shown. The topology of this sketch is correct, but the metric is distorted (for instance, the part below Celbridge Rd/Centra is severely vertically compressed), but it is should be sufficient for finding your way to the Department when you arrive. The main part of NUIM shown is the entrance to the South Campus. North is roughly up.
