page_title: N8 road (Ireland)
section_title: Route from County Laois to Cork City
hierarchical_section_title: N8 road (Ireland) / Route from County Laois to Cork City
caption_attribution_description: English: The junction where the N8 starts/terminates at its northern end, near Portlaoise, the N8 is carried across the motorway on the bridge in picture. (This is J17 on the M7). Current proposals are for the M7 to be extended to Castletown in Co. Laois and a new M8 motorway will branch from it about 14km west of J17, above. Construction of the new M7 and M8 sections of motorway is expected to begin in late 2007. The new stretches of motorway will be tolled.
context_page_description: The N8 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting Cork with Dublin via the M7. The road is motorway standard from junction 19 on the M7 to the Dunkettle interchange outside Cork City and is designated as the M8 motorway. From here the route continues into Cork city and terminates at the N22 road at St. Patrick's Street. The M8 motorway was completed in May 2010, replacing the single carriageway sections of the old N8 and bypassing towns on the main Cork to Dublin road. It is now possible to travel from Cork to Dublin on the M/N8 in about 2 hours 30 minutes. The route commences just south of Portlaoise, and reaches Cork via the midlands and the Golden Vale of Ireland, through Counties Laois, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick and Cork. The N8 is further classified by the United Nations as the entirety of the European route E 201.
context_section_description: Junction 19 on the N7 route (M7 motorway from Naas to past Portlaoise) at Aghaboe marks the start of the N8 (see thumbnails). From here it proceeds southwards, passing under the R434 and R433 roads until it runs parallel to the single-carriageway R639 road, bypassing Abbeyleix, Durrow, Cullahill, Johnstown, Urlingford, Littleton, Horse and Jockey, Cashel, New Inn, Cahir, Skeheenarinky, Kilbeheny, Mitchelstown, Kilworth Mountain, Fermoy, Rathcormac, Watergrasshill and Glanmire. Originally the N8 route passed through all of these towns as a single carriageway however a series of projects as part of the transport 21 road infrastructural project saw all of these towns bypassed and the route replaced with motorway. The M8 motorway ends at the Dunkettle interchange however the N8 route continues into Cork city as the Lower Glanmire Road, Water Street, Horgan's Quay, Penrose Quay, Brian Boru Bridge and Merchant's Quay (and the route returns via St. Patrick's Bridge, Bridge Street and McCurtain Street). The N8 ends where it meets the N22 at St. Patrick's Street. Following completion of the M8 the old N8 has been redesignated as the N77 from Durrow to Portlaoise.
caption: J17 on M7; the start/end point of the N77. This was the start point of the old N8 single carriageway. The M8 now begins at junction 19 further west of Portlaoise following the opening of the M7/M8 in May 2010
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