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Facilities

This course is located close to the town of Cellbridge, and there is lots of parking available. Toilets in the café, but this was not open before the run.

Course

The course is located in a nice country house estate, with mature woodland and tree lined avenues. The Liffey runs through the park and the run course goes by it. The run is mostly flat with a gravel surface, two short laps with an in-and-out section. It is not allowed to run on the grass though, so not good for bad knees.

Coffee

There is a lovely café in Castletown house, which is situated in a room that looks like it might have been a kitchen when the house was in its heyday. There was a nice garden outside the café where you can go to have your coffee on a sunny day, and the coffee was tasty too.

X Factor

This run has great volunteer support. It was Halloween when I was here so there were a lot of people in fancy dress, which was a lot of fun. A big run, with a lot of participants.

Facilities

This course is well connected with bus and rail services, but it is a long walk from the station to the park. There is not a lot of parking at the park. There were toilets but they were not close by.

Course

The run takes place around the playing fields of DKIT. As a result it is not varied and there are not a lot of trees, so quite a plain run. However, you could see the mountains of Mourne in the distance which was nice. Quite a flat course, with three laps so it is easy to gauge what is coming next. A good place to attempt a PB

Coffee

I couldn’t attend the post run coffee as I had to catch a train in the opposite direction. The coffee was not close by, so car was the only option really. Had coffee in the town which unfortunately was not very tasty.

X Factor

There was a windmill next to the park, which I found interesting. Also, this is the town where the mighty Dundalk Town FC play. Quite impressive to think that the football team from this small little town was playing a European giant in Zenith St. Petersburg just a few days before my run.

Facilities

There is good public transport to this run, as is to be expected for a city run, and there is lots of parking at the community centre. There are toilets in the community centre as well, though it is closed before the run.

Course

The entrance to the park is quite plain, once inside, the environs improve. The course was nice, with a paved path and lots of big tress. The run descends into a valley and it feels quite secluded down there, which is hard to achieve in the middle of a city. This is a lapped course with a big hill so not a course for a PB.

Coffee

The parkrunners usually have coffee in the community centre after the run but there was no staff there the day I ran, which was disappointing.

X Factor

The run is located close to Dublin airport and it is quite cool to hear the planes taking off, though this detracts from the serenity of the valley somewhat. Good volunteer support.

Facilities

There is a small car park next to the start line, which is enough for the small crowd that does this run, but parking would be difficult if there were more people. No toilets available at the course.

Course

This is an extremely varied course in a wooded nature reserve. Constant twists and turns, hills and flats, all the time surrounded by streams and woodland, almost like an obstacle course. Not a course for a PB but a very enjoyable run. One negative point was that the course goes onto a public road for a short distance.

Coffee

The very pretty village of Glengarriff is nearby, where there are several options for a post run coffee.

X Factor

There is something special about West Cork. The scenery is incredible and it has its own micro-climate; it really feels like a world apart. Glengarriff was for a long time the home of Maureen O’Hara, and you can see why.

Facilities

There is ample parking available at this parkrun, but the course is located some distance outside the town of Drogheda and hard to get to from public transport.. There are toilets available, though I’m not sure these were open before the run started.

Course

The course is located in a nice country house setting, with the typical features: big house, beautiful walled gardens, tree lined avenue and so on. The run is a cross-country course which makes for an interesting and varied run but no PB at this run.

Coffee

There is a lovely café to the side of the main house looking out over the walled garden, but the coffee was not very good.

X Factor

This is an extremely significant historical site, the site of the battle that shaped Anglo-Irish relations for hundreds of years to follow. There is a good volunteer presence and a good field of participants with some very fast runners.

Facilities

This parkrun has a large car park next to the park, is accessible to local residents, and has a bus service close by. Toilets are also available.

Course

The course has a fairly consistent paved surface on a hilly run. The park environment is very nice with sculptures, large hedgerows and mature trees. Every part of the park feels like a new area.

Coffee

There is a very nice café right next to the park where a lot of the participants go after the run. Very nice coffee to be had there, and a low cost deal for park runners.

X Factor

This park is very pretty and well maintained. You can tell a lot of effort goes into keeping this park looking well and this deserves commending.

Facilities

There is loads of parking available here, and changing and toilet facilities. The course is located a bit outside the town though, and the parking is not near the start line.

Course

The course is flat and open, and it goes around the centre of Naas race course. It is paved all the way with a slight incline. There is something appealing about the uniformity of the run.

Coffee

I had coffee in a café in the centre of the town after the run. It was very tasty, but not near the course.

X Factor

It is interesting that this run takes place inside the track of a course for racing horses. There is definitely some irony to be found there.

Facilities

This run is accessible to local residents, and it is close to a Dublin Bus service. Parking also available. However, it is quite a large park so there is some distance to travel before getting to the start line.

Course

There was a temporary course operating at this run when I went to run, while some works are going on in the park. There were some nice trees and wooded areas along the run, and views out onto Dublin bay. The course goes by a busy road however.

Coffee

There is a lovely café close to the finish line and there is a market set up next to the café, so there are lots of distractions available. The coffee was very tasty.

X Factor

There is a very large field of participants in this run, with lots of volunteer support.

Facilities

There is not a lot of parking available here. The course is located on the bypass around the town so not overly accessible, and it is far from the bus stop. Toilets available in the building on the show grounds.

Course

A relatively flat, open course around the old Clonakilty show grounds. At one point you run past the old spectator stand, with holding pens underneath, which is interesting. The show grounds are a bit run-down generally though.

Coffee

I had coffee in the town centre after the run. A beautiful town centre and nice coffee but requires a drive from the run.

X Factor

It was interesting to think of the shows that used to go on here; this field must have been a hive of activity in years gone by.