The Pope in Ireland 2018

Hundreds of thousands will welcome The Pope in Ireland in 2018.
The main focus of his visit is the Feast of Families Festival in Croke Park where he will give a speech on Saturday evening. He visits Knock Shrine in County Mayo on Sunday morning before returning to Dublin to celebrate mass at The Phoenix Park where upwards of 500,000 are expected to attend.

Itinerary of The Pope in Ireland 2018

Here are the main items on the pope’s schedule:

Saturday 25th August:
10.30am: Arrival at Dublin Airport where there will be an official welcome.
11.15am:  Arrival at Áras an Uachtaráin and visit to the Presidential Residence
12.10pm: Meeting with city and state dignitaries, representatives and the diplomatic corps in Dublin Castle.
3.30pm. Visit to St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral
4.30pm: Private visit to the DayCentre of The Capuchin Fathers.
7.45pm: Visit the Festival of Families at Croke Park.

Sunday 26th August:
9.45am: Arrival at Knock Shrine. Angelus in front of the shrine.
2.30pm: Arrival at The Phoenix Park.
3.00pm: Mass in Phoenix Park. Meeting with Bishops.
6.45pm: Departure from Dublin Airport.

Traffic restrictions for the Popes Visit

The main advice from all the authorities is:

Don’t got to The Phoenix Park, Croke Park or Knock unless you have a ticket.

There are severe traffic restrictions in all these areas throughout the visit. All areas adjacent to these venues will have controlled traffic management.
If you have a ticket and you are visiting, you are likely to have quite a long walk to the venue because of parking restrictions.
Public Transport is operating but with many diversions.
Booking iss essential for Intercity transport.

For a full and comprehensive guide to transport, traffic restrictions and parking see this guide at The AA website.

Most of the visitors to Dublin for the Pope’s visit will be day trippers. If you intend to stay overnight there is still quite a lot of accommodation available which you can find here.