According to the most recent studies, Ireland has 208 border crossings along 310 miles. The findings came about as a result of a joint mapping exercise involving the Irish Department of Transport and the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure back in 2018.
What the study didn’t examine was about many border roads lead to the Co Monaghan town of Clones.
Such information would be of great assistance to GAA fans who get caught in tailbacks travelling to and from the current home of Ulster GAA.
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When the new Casement Park stadium is eventually built, the Ulster Senior Football Championship Finals will be held in West Belfast and fans will either take the M1 or the M2 into the city.
Finding the best road to Clones is a different matter and every GAA fan will have their own ‘back road’ to avoid the worst of the traffic.
We look at some of the best roads for Armagh and Derry to take ahead of Sunday’s provincial decider at St Tiernach’s Park.
For Derry fans departing from Derry City and surrounding areas
Derry fans will head south on the A5 towards Omagh. From Omagh there’s the option of continuing on the A5 towards Aughnacloy and onto the N2 to Monaghan town.
However, Monaghan town should be avoided for both sets of fans unless it is necessary to travel that route as the road from Monaghan to Clones via Smithborough (N54) will be heavily congested.
From Omagh, Derry fans can take the B122 road to Fintona, continuing through to Tempo, Maguiresbridge, Lisnaskea and through to Clones via Newtownbutler on the A34.
Derry fans Departing from Maghera and surrounding areas
Derry fans leaving from Maghea and the Loughshore will head south towards the M1, either via Moneymore, Cookstown and Dungannon on the A29 or via alternative roads leading to the Tamnamore roundabout.
Head along the M1 and then the A4 towards Ballygawley. From there, fans could head to the A5 towards Aughnacloy, Emyvale and Monaghan or towards Fivemiletown.
The road via Fivemiletown, Maguiresbridge, Lisnaskea, Newtownbutler and into Clones via the A34 is approximately nine miles longer than going through Monaghan town, but could work out much quicker.
For Armagh fans departing from Armagh City and north Armagh
Armagh, Middletown, Monaghan, Smithborough and into Clones. For a lot of Armagh fans, there’s little chance of avoiding the traffic in Monaghan town and the best advice is to leave early.
Those approaching Monaghan from the N12 road can bypass the town by heading for Milltown via the Cluain Ard road before rejoining the N52 via Mullinahinch.
For fans wanting to avoid the Monaghan to Clones road altogether, there are a plethora of back roads through villages like Scotstown and Rosslea. Sat Nat is strongly recommended and some of the roads are very narrow.
For Armagh fans departing from south Armagh
Armagh fans heading from south of the county should proceed to the N2 before turning onto the R183 past Castleblayney and head towards Ballybay.
This road leads straight to the crossroads at the foot Clones town, although fans might experience traffic from Ballybay onwards as other fans join the same road from further north.
This road is almost the same distance as travelling north on the N2 and going through Monaghan town, but should be much quicker on Sunday.
Fans should also note there is also scheduled to be a truck run from Monaghan to Castleblayney and back from 12.30pm on Sunday.
Cavan fans
Cavan Ladies take on Armagh in the curtain-raiser to the men’s Ulster SFC Final at Clones and Breffni fans will have the easiest journey.
Not only will they have the shortest travelling time, but the main N54 road between Cavan and Clones should be completely devoid of cars from Armagh and Derry.
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