South-west of Dublin lie two well known event locations: the Citywest complex at Saggart and Punchestown in County Kildare near Naas. For a lorry, being outside the city means fewer traffic restrictions and more room to manoeuvre, but also no docks and no lifts, so unloading happens at ground level. The status of the venues themselves can change, so we always confirm the location with the organiser before setting a route.
Citywest: check the status before you plan a delivery
The Citywest complex at Saggart was for years one of Ireland's largest conference venues, with a hotel and a large-capacity convention hall. It is currently in use as accommodation for people applying for international protection rather than as a working event venue. For an exhibitor that means one thing: an address remembered from earlier editions of a show is not necessarily the current one, and moving an event to another venue changes not only the route but the unloading method and the entry requirements.
The wider lesson is not confined to Ireland. Exhibition venues change names, owners and purpose, while organiser material circulates online for years. So on every job we ask for the venue name and address from the current edition rather than from memory or an old invitation. The same applies to hall names: a name that worked three years ago may now point at a different building.
Punchestown: a racecourse as an event site
Punchestown near Naas in County Kildare, postcode W91 VCX4, is a racecourse that also serves as an event site. The venue quotes 450 acres of ground, parking for seventeen thousand vehicles and over 14,000 sqm of tarmac surface, and describes the layout as a natural amphitheatre with viewing galleries. Meeting rooms seat between twenty and three hundred, so large events run in structures erected on the ground rather than in a permanent exhibition hall.
For a carrier that is a very concrete set of conditions. There is hard standing, but not everywhere; beyond it is turf, which after rain behaves like any turf. Unloading happens at ground level, so either the vehicle has a tail lift or there has to be a rough-terrain forklift on site. Movement rules are set by the organiser and usually mean designated internal routes. We describe comparable conditions at the Scottish Royal Highland Centre, where open ground follows the same logic.
What an out-of-town venue simplifies, and what it complicates
- It simplifies the approach: the Dublin city centre five-axle restriction does not apply and the route runs on high-capacity roads.
- It simplifies waiting: there is room to bring a vehicle early without blocking anyone's bay.
- It complicates unloading: with no dock and no lift, equipment has to be brought or ordered.
- It complicates weather: part of the exhibition area is ground rather than floor.
- It complicates power and services, because in temporary structures everything is run in for the event.
Paperwork: still the EU
A delivery to County Kildare or to Saggart follows the same rules as one to central Dublin: the Republic of Ireland is in the EU, so there is no import clearance, no duty and no ATA carnet. The paperwork comes back through the route, that is through the choice between the land bridge with transit and a direct ferry; we compare both in the article on the direct ferry and the land bridge, and the show-specific angle in the piece on trade fairs in Ireland without an ATA carnet.
Groupage or a dedicated vehicle
At out-of-town venues groupage works for small stands: the load waits for the next scheduled line departure and arrives with other consignments. Above roughly twelve pallets, about a third of a trailer, a dedicated vehicle usually wins. There is a third case typical of open ground: a load that has to arrive together with the equipment to unload it, because there is nothing on site to take it off. Then the vehicle is chosen for the unloading method rather than the volume.
What we do
We confirm the venue and address of the current edition with the exhibitor, collect in Poland or the surrounding countries, consolidate at our Kielce base and deliver to the handover point at an agreed hour, with a fallback for soft ground. We commit to an hour at the gate, because the order of entry is set by site staff. After the event we collect the set and arrange the return; the options are in the article on what happens to a stand after breakdown. The venues in Dublin itself are covered in the pieces on the RDS and the Convention Centre Dublin.
Sources
- Punchestown: venue and hire information
- Citywest: the complex and its current use
- Revenue: pre-boarding notification for entry to Ireland
Exhibiting outside Dublin? Send the venue name from the current edition and the build-up window through the quotation form and we will check the approach and the unloading method. See also exhibition logistics and the Ireland destination.
