THE ROUTE for the 71st edition of the Rás Tailteann has been unveiled, with organisers promising a demanding five days of racing across 785 kilometres of Irish roads, including the controversial R448 Moone-Timolin road, which locals have been protesting since its construction.
The 2026 race will run from 20-24 May, beginning in Portlaoise and finishing in Dunboyne. The final stage of the race departs Carlow, crossing the plains of Carlow and Kildare, including the Category 3 Hill of Allen, before finishing in Dunboyne, where three laps of a testing circuit will decide the stage winner and overall champion.
Part of the stage is set to pass along a controversial 3km cycle lane near Moone and Timolin that has been widely criticised by residents and public representatives for being a danger to road users.
A Rás Tailteann spokesperson was asked for comment but did not reply in time for publication.
Local TD Mark Wall recently raised the issue in Dáil Éireann, describing the route as a dangerous and that residents had endured “about 90 incidents” since the cycle lane was installed in 2025, despite previously being a safe road.
“This is a huge issue for the people of Moone and Timolin and the surrounding area,” he said, adding that some crashes had resulted in cars being written off and people hospitalised.
Local group, Moone Timolin Positive Action Group, has called for the infrastructure to be removed entirely following a safety audit that identified numerous design problems, including poor lighting, inadequate signage and misalignment of the cycle route.
Responsibility for the project has become a point of dispute between Kildare County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, while the State has already spent around €2 million on the scheme.
Deputy Wall has questioned who would fund the fixes required by 22 safety recommendations that arose from the recently published safety audit.
