Long Way to Tipperary
The Route
A Dublin City Ferry Terminal
B The Curragh Racecourse
C Cafe
D Limerick
E Ennistimon
Distance 169 miles (272 km)
The ferry trip across the Irish Sea was uneventful, probably because I slept for three hours of it. It sailed at around 3:00am and I fell asleep in the bar area almost as soon as I had stretched out on the comfy chairs. I was woken by the sound of the captain announcing our arrival in Dublin over the tannoy system. It was now light and the skies relatively clear. Just enough time for a trip to the toilet, get my boots back on and head off to find the bike on which ever deck I had left it on. We headed down the stair well to the car decks to find our bikes. They where near the front of the ship so we should be one of the first off. The bikes where released from their straps and we put our gear and helmets on ready for the off.
We all emerged from the ferry in convoy down the boarding ramps onto the dockside and started to follow the other traffic out of the port. Our first priority was to get out of Dublin. It is not the easiest place to find your way out of even using a GPS unit. There are lot of traffic lights and junctions and eager truck drivers who want to be on their way, delivering the goods to their destinations. We headed out of the city using the road that runs beside the River Liffey.
Extract from the book 'The Land of Diddeley Dee'