R810

The R810 heads south-west out of Dublin. It is an important route, taking in the Guinness Brewery, Kilmainham and the start of the Naas Road.

Even though it wouldn't be a popular route into the city these days, the start of the R810 is also the start of Slige Mhór, an ancient route across Ireland. Elsewhere, parts of the R810 formed the N7 and T5.

Emmet Road in Inchicore.

The road begins on the R108 near Christchurch. It then runs along Thomas Street, past The Liberties, and James's Street, where Guinness buildings line the street on both sides. Here the line of Slige Mhór breaks away.

From here the R810 passes St James's Hospital and runs along the south bank of the Camac River into Kilmainham. In the middle of Inchicore, it takes over from the R839, which is itself the old N7 and T5.

The R810 continues south-west, with Blackhorse Bridge taking it over the Grand Canal. Here the road merges with the R812 and the Luas line, which was built in 2004.

The Naas Road dual carriageway.

Once clear of the houses, it opens up to be a dual carriageway - one of the first dual carriageways in Ireland. It replaced the much windier old road, and was built between September 1941 and January 1944. The new road then had to be resurfaced in the late 1950s as the surface was already breaking up. This was attributed to the use of poor quality aggregates owing to transport difficulties at the time.

This final section of the R810 runs through the industrial estates and retail parks, down to the Red Cow Interchange. It was downgraded from N7 in 1987, at which point it stopped being signed as the main route into the city. "City centre" signs returned when the junction was upgraded.

The R810 was a poor relation in most of Dublin's transport plans. The aim was always to direct traffic away from Inchicore, using other roads. Between 1972 and 1987, Thomas Street would have crossed the Western Tangent on a flyover.