General travel information:

Cork is the second biggest city in the Republic of Ireland. There are two official languages – Irish and English. Everybody speaks English and all signs and important information is displayed in English. The currency is Euro (€). The power sockets are ‘type G’ and the standard voltage is 230V. Unless you are travelling from the UK, you will need an adaptor. If you want to hire a car, note that we drive on the left side of the road.

Visa information:

Ireland is in the European Union, but it is not in the Schengen travel area. Many visitors to Ireland will require a Conference or Short Stay Visa to enter the country. You can check whether or not you require a visa on the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Services (INIS) website.

If you require a visa, you may also require a visa letter from the conference organisers. You can request a visa letter after you have registered for the conference. To request a letter, please email lucy.taylor@ucc.ie. 

International Travel and Local Transportation:

Cork is in the south of Ireland. There are 3 international airports nearby – Cork, Shannon and Dublin.

From Cork airport:

By bus: Cork airport is about 25 minutes from the city centre by public bus. Bus number 226A stops outside the main terminal building and will bring you to the central bus station. You can view the timetable here. Note that the timetable on Sunday is different. A single ticket will cost €2.80.

If you are coming directly to UCC, you can take bus 205 from the bus station to UCC.

By taxi: You can take a taxi from the airport. It will cost approximately €40 – €50. All taxis use a meter and will issue a receipt. Most will accept payments by card.

From Dublin airport:

The most convenient way to travel from Dublin airport to Cork city is by bus. There are two bus companies:

Aircoach: The Aircoach bus number 704X is an express service between Dublin Airport and Cork city centre. You can view the timetable here. The journey takes approximately 3 hours and will cost €28 return. You can book tickets on the Aircoach website (www.aircoach.ie).

Bus Éireann: Route X8 also goes from Dublin Airport to Cork bus station. This journey takes approximately 4 hours. You can view the timetable here.

You can also take a train from Dublin city centre to Cork city. Rail timetables and ticket information are available on the Irish Rail website (http://www.irishrail.ie/). Trains do not leave directly from the airport.

From Shannon airport:

Bus 51 stops at Shannon airport and goes to Cork city. It takes approximately 2.5 hours and departs every hour. A return ticket costs €29. You can view the timetable here.