The Convention Centre Dublin stands at Spencer Dock on North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, postcode D01 T1W6. Delivery vehicles enter by a ramp off Lower Mayor Street at the rear of the building, into an underground bay with a dock office. The venue quotes a height limit of 4.3 metres, floor loading of 12.5 kN/m² and an axle load of 8.5 tonnes, and goods travel on from there in two lifts: a truck lift rated 25,000 kg and a smaller van lift rated 6,000 kg.
Specifications that decide how you pack
The venue publishes dimensions worth knowing before the display is built. The truck lift has an entrance clearance of 3,900 by 3,200 millimetres and takes a trailer up to 13,600 by 2,500 by 4,000 millimetres at a rated 25,000 kilograms. The van lift has a clearance of 2,900 by 3,200 millimetres and a rating of 6,000 kilograms. The bay height limit is 4.3 metres.
For an exhibitor that means decisions at the stand design stage rather than the transport stage. An item longer than the lift car has to be split. A case taller than the clearance has to come apart. A heavy exhibit has to be weighed rather than estimated. We develop the logic in the article on unloading an oversized exhibit, and how the structure itself travels in the piece on transporting exhibition stands.
Rules on site
The venue requires every courier to report to the dock office at the loading bay on arrival. HGVs may not park on site, so the vehicle leaves after unloading. Consignments must be labelled with a name, address and stand number, which in a multi-level building is the only way a package reaches the right place without a driver walking it there. After an event the venue applies a one-hour closure before contractors are let in for breakdown, and that has to be built into the return vehicle plan.
The docks, the port and the five-axle restriction
The location suits transport: the venue sits in the docklands close to Dublin Port, the port tunnel and the M50 network. That proximity has a flip side. Dublin city centre restricts five-axle and heavier vehicles, as the venue itself points out. So the approach and the permitted vehicle are settled together: the bay specifications say what gets into the building, and the city traffic rules say what can reach the building at all. Those are two different answers and both have to work.
Paperwork: Ireland is the EU
A load travelling from Poland to Dublin stays in free circulation: no import clearance, no duty, no ATA carnet. The paperwork comes back through the route. On the land bridge across Great Britain you need transit or proof of Union status; on a direct ferry that step disappears but there are fewer sailings. The comparison is in the article on the direct ferry and the land bridge, and the contrast with British shows in the piece on trade fairs in Ireland without an ATA carnet.
What to settle before arrival
- The level and room the load is going to, since that decides which lift is used.
- The dimensions and weight of the heaviest item, checked against the lift specifications.
- The hour at the bay and the maximum time a vehicle may occupy it.
- How consignments are labelled and the stand number.
- An approach route compatible with Dublin city centre traffic restrictions.
- The moment the venue lets contractors in for breakdown.
Groupage or a dedicated vehicle
Conference stands at the CCD are usually a handful of units, which travel comfortably as groupage and wait for the next scheduled line departure. A dedicated vehicle makes sense above roughly twelve pallets, about a third of a trailer, on a fixed date, and when the display is one valuable exhibit. At this venue there is a fourth case: a load that has to come off the vehicle straight into the lift at a set hour, because the bay is not a place to wait.
What we do on a delivery to the CCD
We collect in Poland, consolidate at our Kielce base, match the route and vehicle to Dublin's traffic restrictions and deliver to the handover point at the bay at an agreed hour. We commit to an hour at the bay, because the order of service there is set by the venue. After the event we collect the set, allowing for the one-hour closure before contractors are let in, and arrange the return to Poland.
Sources
- The Convention Centre Dublin: venue information
- CCD: access and deliveries for exhibitors
- Revenue: pre-boarding notification for entry to Ireland
Have a stand at the CCD? Send the level, the room and the dimensions of the heaviest item through the quotation form and we will check them against the lift specifications before loading. See also exhibition logistics and the Ireland destination.
