The Olympic Torch has seen and done it all. Did you know it’s been in space twice and at the 1976 Montreal Olympics it was actually ignited by a laser beam? Well now it’s the turn of the Irish to bask in the glory of the world’s most famous flame.
The torch was well on its way to the capital before most of you got out of the scratcher as 1992 Olympic medal winners Michael Carruth and Wayne McCullough carried it across the border line in Newry bright and early this morning.
Here’s a handy guide outlining where exactly the torch will travel when it reaches the capital and where you can view it up close and in person.
- The Olympic Torch will first make its way to Howth where President Michael D Higgins will kick off its Dublin leg of the journey. It will arrive at 7.45am before it makes its way around Dublin city. This is an open event so pop along if you want to see the torch.
- The torch will then make its first stop in Croke Park, Drumcondra. It will hopefully touch base around 8am and it will be visible to the public in Croker from around 8.30am.
- At 9.13 the torch should make it’s way around the new Skyline attraction on the roof of Croke Park while being held firmly in the grasp of Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin, however, it will not be visible to the public at this point.
- After the torch has made its way around the new Skyline attraction, it will come back down to terra firma and exit Croker from the Jones’ Road entrance and out onto Russell Street.
- From Russell Street, the torch will then move onto the North Circular Road and down Belvedere Place before making its way past Mountjoy Square Park and the Rotunda Hospital.
- Once the torch has made its way onto O’Connell Street, Lucan twins Jedward will take control of it until the GPO – we can’t trust them with it for too much long, what with all their arsing about.
- The torch will then continue down Eden Quay, past the Custom House, the IFSC and Sherriff Street. Dublin footballer Bernard Brogan will have the honour of carrying the torch until he hands it to Irish soccer legend Paul McGrath at Beckett Bridge.
- Paul will then take the torch down Cardiff Lane and briefly through Pearse Street at the Pearse Street Park before the torch makes its way down Macken Street.
- From here, the torch will head down Holles Street and past Merrion Square on the east side before making its way onto Fitzwilliam Street Upper.
- The torch will then travel down Leeson Street Lower and up along the Grand Canal before turning up Clanbrassil Street Upper.
- It will travel up towards Christchurch Cathedral and onto Dame Street before making it’s way around College Green and onto Nassau Street.
- It will then head past Merrion Square, this time on the east side, and up to Government Buildings where it will be greeted by Enda Kenny before it heads past Stephen’s Green Park.
- The torch will finish its tour of Dublin on Dawson Street, but it will return to Stephen’s Green where Dublin Lord Mayor, Andrew Montague, will greet torch bearer Sonia O’Sullivan, who will light an Olympic cauldron on a stage.
- There’s going to be a big ceremony in Stephen’s Green when Sonia O’Sullivan arrives with the torch at around 11.30am so make sure to grab and early lunch to get the best seats in the house.
If you can’t make it out of the office, or off your sofa, then you can catch all the live relay action on RTÉ 1 from 9am.
In case you’re wondering, the other official torch bearers include, Anne Ebbs, Anthony Hickie, Bernard Brogan, Cillian Kirwan, Edward Byrne, Gary O’Brien, Joan Freeman, John Collins, Kenneth Egan, Mubarak Habib, Ronnie Delany, Ruby Walsh, Pam Lacken, Shane Horgan and Anthony Sutherland, father of the late boxer Darren Sutherland.
