‘Don’t panic over Kilkenny Road’ says CEO of Carlow Co Co

COILÍN O’Reilly, CEO of Carlow Co Council, made a pointed statement to councillors that they must be “patient and calm” as road engineers carry out their work on the Kilkenny Road. Speaking at last week’s county council meeting, he further stated that the reduction of the speed limit along the N80 in Graiguenaspiddoge has reduced the rate of traffic collisions significantly.

The remarks were in response to a question from cllr Paul Doogue regarding traffic jams on the Kilkenny Road due to the narrowing of the road and removal of a filter lane when turning onto Burrin Street.

“My expectation is that the Kilkenny Road will be fine,” replied Mr O’Reilly. “Let’s not look at road works and panic. Let’s be patient, let’s be calm. We will work with councillors and citizens, but let’s not engage in online mayhem.

“We have to have faith in our competent professionals that do these jobs for us.” In response to fears about emergency vehicles using the Kilkenny Road, he pointed out that its width is now six metres, which is wider than rural roads that are 5.5 metres.

He also described the road as “an ideal location for active travel”, given the number of parents and children travelling to schools along it, and the presence of the university. “Let’s see where it goes,” Mr O’Reilly concluded.

As for the N80 speed limit reduction from 100kph to 80kph, he noted that it had been six months since it was introduced. “From a data point of view, we’ve seen a huge reduction,” the CEO noted, referring to a reduction from 27 incidents requiring emergency services’ attention in 2025 to three in the past six months. “I think that says it all,” stated Mr O’Reilly.