The N7 road is a national primary road in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, connecting

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. The majority of the route (between Naas and Limerick) is motorway standard and is designated as the M7 motorway. At the Rosbrien interchange in Limerick the route continues as the N18 dual carriageway to

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Shannon and

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

. The road passes through the midlands of Ireland, and acts as a trunk route out of Dublin for the N8 and N9 national primary routes to Cork and

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

respectively. It forms part of European route E20.

Route

N7 - Naas Road

From the M50, the N7 passes south of Clondalkin leaving the city as part of the ''Naas Road''. (The Naas Road begins at the Grand Canal as a regional road ( R810), a continuation of the Tyrconnell Road. It continues 3.4 km southwest to the M50 motorway, at the Red Cow interchange, where it becomes the N7.) The N7 route continues in a south-west direction with 3 lanes of traffic each way towards

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

for approximately . Construction of the third lane commenced on 4 January 2005 and concluded on 14 August 2006 (thumbnail left); having been originally dualled between 1963 and 1968. At Newlands Cross a flyover and exit slip roads replaced the at-grade signal-controlled crossing in November 2014. This eliminated the last signal-controlled crossing on the N7/M7 route between the M50 and Limerick. Traffic for Clondalkin to the north and Tallaght to the south leave the N7 by slip roads connecting to the R113. The N7 continues southwards to bypass Citywest, Saggart, Rathcoole, Kill and Johnstown in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. These locations are all served with grade-separated interchanges which were constructed as part of the upgrade works completed in the mid-2000s. The old junctions consisted of traffic lights with a break in the dual-carriageway median. The three-lane section used to end at junction 9 (Naas, Sallins) with a left-hand lane-drop/lane-gain for traffic leaving/entering here. The section of the N7 between

and the M50 Motorway is the second busiest road in the country with frequent daily tailbacks from the

North junction on the southbound side. This part of the route is the only section that remains designated as N7 as the road is not motorway standard.

Left-in/left-out Right-in/right-out (RIRO) and left-in/left-out (LILO) refer to a type of three-way road intersection where turning movements of vehicles are restricted. A RIRO permits only right turns and a LILO permits only left turns. "Right-in" and "left-in" r ...

access is provided to minor roads and to homes, farms and businesses along this section.

M7 - Naas to Limerick

From Naas, motorway restrictions are enforced and the route is designated as the M7 motorway. The route continues in a south-west direction bypassing the towns of

, Newbridge,

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

, Monasterevin and

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...

. The M9 to

diverges from the route at junction 11. South of

the M8 diverges from the M7 to Cork and the south at junction 19 with the M7 continuing south-westwards bypassing the towns of Mountrath,

Borris-in-Ossory Borris-in-Ossory (, or the ' Burgage of Osraige') is a village in west County Laois, Ireland, close to the Tipperary border and the M7 motorway. Features The village has facilities such as a school, churches, community hall, convenience reta ...

, Castletown (County Laois),

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2022 it had a population of 5,542. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Crónán of Roscrea, Saint Crónán of Roscrea, p ...

, Moneygall, Toomevara,

Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...

and Birdhill. From Birdhill the route continues towards

city where it forms part of the Limerick Southern Ring Road bypassing Annacotty and Castletroy. The route terminates at the Rosbrien Interchange to the south of Limerick City. The road continues as the N18 into county Clare. At the Rosbrien Interchange, access is available to the

M20 motorway The M20 is a Controlled-access highway, motorway in Kent, England. It follows on from the A20 road (England), A20 at Swanley, meeting the M25 motorway, M25, and continuing on to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports a ...

via a slip road from the M7.

History

Originally the N7 was a single carriage-way route between Dublin and Limerick and passed through the main towns on the route that are now bypassed. The old N7 route was downgraded to regional road status (as soon as sections of the M7 motorway were complete) and is currently designated as the R445 road. The R445 is an alternative route between Limerick and Dublin. Until 2012, the N7 was the only one of the inter-urban routes out of Dublin which did not commence in Dublin city centre, but rather at the M50. The original N7 route (under the ''Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act, 1974 (Declaration of National Roads) Order, 1977'') started the route in Dublin city centre, like the other national routes, with the route originally running through

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchi ...

village before reaching the Naas Road. However, in 1994, following the construction of the

Chapelizod Chapelizod () is a suburban village of Dublin, Ireland. It lies in the wooded valley of the River Liffey, near the Strawberry Beds and the Phoenix Park. The village is associated with Iseult of Ireland and the location of Iseult's chapel. Chap ...

bypass which brought the N4 road (now R148) into Dublin city centre as dual carriageway, the N7 inside the M50 was downgraded to regional road status (as the R110 road), with N7 traffic signposted to use the N4 and M50 rather than the original route through Inchicore. The N7 is noted for two firsts in the history of Irish roads - the first substantial length of dual carriageway in Ireland, running from Dublin to Naas which was completed in 1968 and also Ireland's first section of motorway, the Naas Bypass, opened in 1983 bypassing the original route through the town. The old N7 route (now R445/R110) also formed most of the T5 trunk route between Dublin and Limerick. This was an old method of designating routes in Ireland before the current method was introduced.

History of upgrades to the N7 and M7

Towards the start of the 21st Century, a substantial effort was made to upgrade all sections of the N7 road to motorway standard, creating a high-quality standard connection between Dublin and Limerick. Prior to the year 2000, only short sections of the N7 were of motorway or dual-carriageway status: * Widening of the N7 between Dublin and Naas to dual carriageway status - 1960s (the third lane constructed each way completed in 2006) * M7 Naas Bypass - completed 1983 * M7 Newbridge Bypass - completed 1993 * M7 Portlaoise Bypass - completed 1997 As part of the National Development Plan undertaken by the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...

from the mid-2000s onwards; work took place to link existing sections of the M7 and extend it to Limerick: * M7 Kildare Bypass - completed 2003 * M7 Monasterevin Bypass and Limerick Bypass - completed in 2004 * M7 Nenagh to Limerick, Portlaoise to Castletown and Castletown to Nenagh - all completed in 2010.

Map of route

Route of N7 overlaid on Google Maps

Junctions

The junctions on the Naas Bypass and Newbridge Bypass sections of the M7 were previously numbered J7-J11 (now renumbered Junctions 9–13), in the expectation that an M7 motorway would be built along a new alignment. Instead, the Naas Road dual-carriageway was upgraded. There remain some private accesses and minor exits prior to J9, the beginning of the M7 motorway. Junctions 9-30 form part of the motorway section of the N7. {, class="plainrowheaders wikitable" , - !scope=col, County !scope=col, km !scope=col, mi !scope=col, Junction !scope=col, Destinations !scope=col, Notes , - , rowspan="14",

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, - , , , bgcolor="dff9f9", 1
Red Cow interchange , bgcolor="dff9f9", – Dublin Airport, Dublin Port,

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

, bgcolor="dff9f9", Continues as R110 towards

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

. , - , , , bgcolor="ffdddd", , bgcolor="ffdddd", – Clondalkin , bgcolor="ffdddd", Red Cow Luas Park and Ride
LILO junction. Westbound entrance and exit only. , - , , , 1a , ‒ Tallaght, Clondalkin , , - , , , bgcolor="ffdddd", , bgcolor="ffdddd", – Boot Road , bgcolor="ffdddd", Eastbound exit only. , - , , , 2 , – Grange Castle, Kingswood , Cheeverstown Luas Park and Ride , - , , , 3 , – Blessington, Citywest , LILO junction.
Partially signposted as defunct N82 road. , - , , , bgcolor="ffdddd", 3a , bgcolor="ffdddd", – Saggart, Citywest , bgcolor="ffdddd", LILO junction. Westbound entrance and exit only. , - , , , bgcolor="ffdddd", , bgcolor="ffdddd", – Baldonnel , bgcolor="ffdddd", Casement Aerodrome
LILO junction. Eastbound entrance and exit only. , - , , , 4 , – Saggart, Rathcoole, Newcastle , , - , , , bgcolor="ffdddd", , bgcolor="ffdddd", – Rathcoole , bgcolor="ffdddd", LILO junction. Westbound entrance and exit only. , - , , , bgcolor="ffdddd", , bgcolor="ffdddd", – Tootenhill , bgcolor="ffdddd", LILO junction. Westbound entrance and exit only. , - , , , bgcolor="ffdddd", , bgcolor="ffdddd", – Colmanstown Lane , bgcolor="ffdddd", LILO junction. Eastbound entrance and exit only. , - , , , 5 , – Castlewarden
– Athgoe
– Steelstown , LILO junction. , - , rowspan="5",

, - , , , 6 , Castlewarden, Kilteel , , - , , , 7 , – Kill (North)
– Straffan , , - , , , 8 , – Johnstown, Kill (westbound)
Kill (South) (eastbound) , , - , , , bgcolor="dff9f9", 9 , bgcolor="dff9f9", –

(North) (westbound) , bgcolor="dff9f9", Continues as M7 motorway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:N7 Road (Ireland) 07 Roads in County Dublin Roads in County Kildare Roads in County Laois Roads in County Tipperary Roads in County Offaly Roads in County Limerick