Last minute information for people travelling to Dublin.

Meet up times/locations for actions:

A30 Friday 5.30pm Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square (critical
mass)
M1 Saturday 10am Civic Offices, Wood Quay (reclaim the city/no
borders street theatre)
M1 Saturday 2pm Grafton Street, St Stephen's Green end (afternoon
meeting point)
M1 Saturday 6pm Benburb Street/Parkgate St (bring the noise!)
M2 Sunday 11am Customs House Quay, IFSC intersection (no borders
camp) (15 euros return ticket)
M3 Monday 3pm Ambassador Cinema, O'Connell Street (reclaim the
streets)

Please note the M2 Sunday No Borders Camp is outside Dublin and will cost 15 euros return for transport. We HAVE to leave at 11.30am due to timetabling commitments so please show up on time.

If you have not contacted the Accommodation group and you require a place to stay, then PLEASE contact them at accommodation@hushmail.com IMMEDIATELY as places will be limited.

When you arrive in Dublin, please go to the Indymedia Ireland Centre (Charles Street, off Mountjoy Square, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 - on the northside of the city centre) where a representative from the Dublin Grassroots Network will have details of your allocated sleeping space, and a map to guide you there.

Please do not bring anything valuable with you that could be stolen, or seized by Gardai.

Please read up on the legal & medical guidelines on the EUfortress website. Phone numbers will be available in case you are arrested or injured. Write these on your arm in permanent marker.

You can bring GSM unlocked mobile phones and use them in Ireland. Irish network SIM cards cost approximately 30 euros. If you are using a roaming phone then the international access code for Ireland is +353.

For those of you who are travelling from abroad, there are two ways you can get to Ireland, by plane or by boat. If you are thinking of going by plane, many different companies fly into Dublin so your best bet is to check with your local carrier. The two main airlines that serve Dublin are Aer Lingus and Ryanair. Aer Lingus is the national airline, and although it is slightly more expensive than Ryanair, they have a unionised workforce, mostly in SIPTU (Services Industrial Professional Technical Union). For this reason we would encourage you not to book with Ryanair even if they are slightly cheaper. By booking ahead you will save money.

Dublin Airport is situated on the north side of the city, north of Santry and south of Swords. Its approximately a 30 minute bus journey into the city centre. There are private companies that run express coaches into the city, but it is cheaper (yet slightly slower!) to get the public bus service from the airport into town, the number 41 will bring you into the city centre. A single fare from the airport is e1.60 approx. For more information on routes and fares check out the Dublin Bus website.

Ireland is served by a number of ferry routes, from the UK and France. Irish Ferries serve a number of routes, including Holyhead (in Wales) to Dublin, Pembroke (Wales) to Rosslare, and Cherbourg & Roscoff (France) to Rosslare. Stena Line are another ferry company operating to Ireland from the UK. In addition to the Holyhead to Dublin route, they also sail into Dun Laoighre, as well as operating a Fishguard (Wales) to Rosslare line, and from Stranraer (Scotland) to Belfast. Swansea-Cork Ferries does exactly what it says on the tin, i.e. it goes from Swansea to Cork.

If you are coming to Ireland for any protests, landing in Dublin or Dun Laoighre is possibly the easiest option. Dun Laoighre is served by the local DART (train) and Dublin Bus services and is only about 45 minutes from Dublin's City Centre. Rosslare is approximately 2 hours south of Dublin by train. Cork is approximately 3 and a half hours away, and Belfast is about 2 and a half. The trains in Ireland are run by Iarnrod Eireann, check out their site for a full list of train timetables. A slightly cheaper option is Bus Eireann, again their site has all details of prices and times to and from other locations.

FOR PEOPLE TRAVELLING FROM THE UK: Stenaline operate ferry crossings between Stranraer-Belfast, Holyhead-Dublin (Dublin Port or Dun Laoghaire) and Fishguard-Rosslare. Adult monthly return fares cost £39 for the Holyhead-Dublin sailings and £30 for Fishguard-Rosslare. Cheaper rates are available for OAP's and children, see website for details.

Stenaline also operate a 'sail and rail' deal. 'Super Economy Return' fares (lowest prices but limited choice in crossing times per day) are a cheap way of getting to Dublin with fares costing £34 (Chester), £41 (Manchester and Liverpool) and £54 (London & Cardiff).

The Dublin Duo special offer (Stenaline) costs £63 (Chester), £74 (Manchester and Liverpool) and £90 (London)and includes train to Holyhead, ferry crossing and DART ticket from the port to Dublin city centre FOR TWO PEOPLE.

The Virgin Value special offer also run by Stenaline offers cheaper fares depending on how far in advance you book your ticket. 14 days in advance costs £32 with fares of £48 and £58 when you book 7 and 3 days in advance. Prices include travel between London and Holyhead, ferry crossing and DART ticket from port to Dublin city centre.

Irish ferrries operate crossings from Holyhead-Dublin and Pembroke-Rosslare. Both cost £30 for adults and £22.50 and £15 for students and children respectively.

All prices quoted above are for return fares in UK pounds sterling. Consult the relevant websites for more detailed info.

Where can I stay?

We have set up a contact email address for accommodation. If you or your group are intending on coming to Ireland for Mayday or during the EU presidency then please get in touch as soon as possible. The number of people that we can look after is extremely limited. We will be helping people on a first-come, first-served basis. Apologies but it is a lot of work and we simply don't have the resources to help thousands of people! The contact address is accommodation AT hushmail DOT com (the email address is up here in this format to stop spammers automatically detecting it). We advise you to bring basic sleeping materials such as a sleeping bag and possibly a tent in case the accomodation centres are shut down.

There are loads of youth and backpacker hostels in Dublin as it is a very popular destination for young tourists (often with no money!). Some good sites to check out are Hostel Dublin, and also Allens Guide. We cant speak from experience because we've never stayed in any tourist hostel, but from talking to people who have, Isaacs seems to be a decent bet, reasonably priced and clean, plus there's a rake of pubs in the vicinity (and a Garda station as well!)

If you're looking for something a bit more upmarket then you should consult the Irish Tourist Board, Bord Failte, they will be able to recommend a bed & breakfast or hotel for you.

Accommodation emails:
accommodation AT hushmail.com (PGP encrypted)

Groups planning to travel to Ireland

People from the Wombles and the Dissent! Network in the UK are planning on travelling to Dublin for the Mayday weekend. If you are living in the UK and plan on coming to Dublin, you can email them
wombles AT hushmail.com

If you want to add anything onto this site, email the site administrator:
bluekingfisher AT hushmail.com

More information

Some good sources of information on recent events are Indymedia Ireland, which is part of the global Indymedia network. The site has news, photos, and commentary. The Struggle site contains a vast archive of news reports from anarchist/libertarian actions around the country, with documents and information for you to download for free. A recent addition, Anarchomedia, is an excellent pool of Irish anarchist, activist and alternative news. Recent events involving non-authoritarian groups and individuals have included the campaign against the service charges, the anti-war demonstration at Shannon airport, and solidarity actions with the Thessaloniki hunger strikers, among others.