Guide to Dublin Road services

(Seirbhísí Bóthar Bhaile Átha Cliath)

Dublin Road
Bóthar Bhaile Átha Cliath
Location:

N1 and A1 over the Irish border
(also accessible to traffic on the B113 and the R132)

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

BT35 8RL

map and directions

Access/Layout:

Series of sites arranged around a junction.


This isn't a single service area as we would recognise it, but a series of facilities located on the original Dublin to Belfast road as it crosses the border at Killeen. Traffic is able to leave the new A1 north of the border, take the old road past the services, and then rejoin the road to the south (or vice-versa).

Facilities

Catering: Costa Express Shops: Fireworks Factory NI, Today's Local, Wholesale Home Fuels, JR's Off Licence Amenities: Bureau de Change, Carrickdale Hotel & Spa Outdoor Space: No official walking area - facilities are spread out along a main road Forecourt: BP, Barney's Service Station, Donnelly's Fuels, Morgan Fuels, Morgan Xpress, McKevitt's Service Station, Texaco, Car Wash

Parking Prices

Short-stay customer parking is provided at each facility.

This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Dublin Road
Co. Down & Co. Louth
BT35 8RL
Eircode: A91 A368


Trivia and History

The biggest of the many petrol stations.

The facilities on either side of the border at Killeen are there to take advantage of the different currencies and regulations. This includes a number of forecourts, which is why the exit is signposted as "Dublin Road services".

Signage outside Barnaby's (immediately north of the border) appears to call that one the official service station, although it's not clear if that was meant to imply that all the others are of a lesser status. Given the nature of the road, there is probably no single 'official' service area.

These facilities were originally on the main road to Belfast, but they saw a drop in trade after the new cross-border dual carriageway opened in 2006. Consequently many of them are looking tired, as the road no longer attracts investment from many of the big names.

The various facilities along Dublin Road united in August 2019 to form the 'Dublin Road Services Operators Group', which wanted to fight plans for a new Maxol forecourt that was planned to be built north of Newry. The group stated that the whole length of Dublin Road had been designated as one service area.

Curiously, due to the position of the border, northbound traffic briefly spends a few hundred yards in Northern Ireland before re-entering the Republic and then entering Northern Ireland again. For many years this area was politically contentious, and more recently there had been a number of concerns regarding Brexit, but at the moment there seems to be no issues here.

Morgan Fuels received planning permission to rebuild their forecourt in November 2020. They intended to add a restaurant and a convenience store.

Alternatives

Previous:Next:
Castlebellingham (25 km)Services on the N1 and A1Barbican (northbound, 22 miles)
Lisburn (M1 north, 37 miles)