The N7 road is a

national primary road A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, connecting

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. 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 Shannon and Ennis. 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 Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

respectively. It forms part of

European route E20 European route E20 is a part of the United Nations International E-road network. It runs roughly west–east through Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Russia. Its length is but it is not continuous; at three points, a ...

Route

N7 - Naas Road

From the M50, the N7 passes south of

Clondalkin Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondal ...

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 ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

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

to the north and

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to the south leave the N7 by slip roads connecting to the R113. The N7 continues southwards to bypass

Citywest Citywest ( ga, Iarthar na Cathrach) is a suburban development on the southwestern periphery of Dublin, originally developed as a "business campus." It contains a large hotel, with a convention centre, a small shopping centre and a small but e ...

Saggart Saggart ( ga, Teach Sagard) is a village in South Dublin, Ireland, south west of Dublin city. It lies between the N7 (Naas Road), Rathcoole, Citywest and Tallaght. It is one of the fastest-growing settlements in Ireland, showing a populat ...

, Rathcoole,

Kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

and Johnstown in County Kildare. 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 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census. Location and Access Sit ...

and Portlaoise. The M9 to

diverges from the route at junction 11. South of Portlaoise the M8 diverges from the M7 to

and the south at junction 19 with the M7 continuing south-westwards bypassing the towns of

Mountrath Mountrath () is a small town in County Laois, Ireland. The town lies on the R445 midway between Dublin and Limerick, exactly 96.5 km (60 mi) from both cities. The town was bypassed by the M7 motorway in 2010 leading to a significant ...

Borris-in-Ossory Borris-in-Ossory (, or the 'Burgage of Osraige') is a village in west County Laois, Ireland. Bypassed by the M7 motorway on 28 May 2010, the village is situated on the R445 road close to the County Tipperary border between the towns of Mountr ...

, Castletown (County Laois),

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

Moneygall Moneygall () is a small village on the border of counties Offaly and Tipperary, in Ireland. It is situated on the R445 road between Dublin and Limerick. There were 313 people living in the village as of the 2016 census. Moneygall has a Catholic ...

Toomevara Toomevara, officially Toomyvara (), is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The village is at the junction on the R445 where it meets the R499 regional road. The village was bypassed in December 2010 by the M7 Dublin - Limerick motorway. It ...

Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond ...

and

Birdhill Birdhill ()Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is a village in

city where it forms part of the Limerick Southern Ring Road bypassing

Annacotty Annacotty () is a suburban town on the outskirts of Limerick, Ireland, from the centre of the city. It is situated where the old N7 main road between Limerick and Dublin crosses the Mulkear River, upstream of where it flows into the River S ...

and

Castletroy Castletroy (, meaning O'Troy's Landing or O'Troy's Callow) is a suburb of Limerick, Ireland. The town was named after Castle Troy also known as The Black Castle, which is located on the southern bank of the River Shannon, roughly 2km East of th ...

. 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 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 road is a regional road in Ireland. The route is a non-motorway alternative route to the N7/ M7 motorway between Naas and Limerick, and at 170 km it is one of the longest regional roads in Ireland (longer than most national roads). ...

. 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, 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 Inchicore railway works (b ...

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

Chapelizod Chapelizod () is a village preserved within the city 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 Is ...

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 National Development Plan (NDP, ga, Plean Forbartha Náisiúnta) was the title given by the Irish Government to a scheme of organised large-scale expenditure on (mainly) national infrastructure. The first five-year plan ran from 1988 to 1993, ...

undertaken by the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

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. M7 under construction May 2010

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