Time to rock and roll as World Cup arrives

Football fans and disgruntled spouses could be forgiven for assuming that there will be absolutely no traffic on the roads this weekend, but that is apparently not the case.

The World Cup is kicking off in Germany this evening, and the next football-free day is June 28th (don't worry there will be highlights all day), but there are still a few begrudgers of the beautiful game, and this weekend they will be particularly vocal.

Preparations for heavy traffic and the unusual mixture of screaming pop tarts and aging rockers are already under way. Guns 'n' Roses, or at least former frontman Axel Rose and some of his mates, will do their own kickin' off at the RDS from 3pm this afternoon, while at GAA headquarters cheeky chappie Robbie Williams will wow fans with another red-coat routine tonight.

Classic crooners The Eagles and Mark Knopfler will perform tomorrow at 7 pm at Lansdowne Road and The Point Depot, respectively.

The former will apparently have enough energy for a Sunday gig at the same time, while Metallica will play the RDS at 3 pm.

All this means that Iarnród Éireann has added extra trains to cope with travel demands.

Eight special trains have been added to the Cork and Limerick routes, both to and from Dublin, but tickets must be purchased in advance and cannot be bought at stations on the day of travel. So start walking if you are trying to make a date with Robbie or Axel.

Iarnród Éireann will also control regular routes from Mayo, Galway, Cork, Kerry and Limerick to accommodate extra passengers.

Two extra late-night services will run on the Northern and Maynooth lines after tonight's Robbie Williams concert in Croke Park. The first leaves Connolly station to Dundalk at 12.05am, and the second leaves Connolly to Maynooth at 12.15am.

Closer to the action a traffic cordon around has been in affect around Croke Park since 10.30am.

Robbie fans must have a valid ticket to be allowed in. Alcohol and other "articles likely to cause harm or annoyance" will be seized at the cordon.

One wonders will Robbie get in at all, if that is the case.

The cordon will affect various junctions on the following roads: Clonliffe Road, Lower Drumcondra Road, Fitzroy Avenue, Whitworth Place, North Circular Road, Lower Sherrard Street, Belvedere Avenue, Portland Street North, Russell Street, St Margaret's Avenue, North Richmond Street, Ballybough Road, Sackville Avenue, Fosters Avenue, Clonliffe Avenue and O'Sullivan's Avenue.

After the concert, an outer traffic cordon will be in place from 10.45pm. City-bound traffic from the Marino and Fairview area will use Fairview to North Strand route, while outbound traffic will use the Amiens Street to North Strand route.

Mountjoy Square and Poplar Row will be used for private coach parking, and Gardiner Street along Mountjoy Square will be used as a drop-and-go area for buses and coaches.

GAA fixtures continue unabated nationwide.

The picks of the bunch are both on Sunday. The Ulster championship semi-final between Armagh and Fermanagh will draw crowds to Clones for the 2.15 pm throw-in, while Wexford's Leinster hurling semi-final against Offaly will be staged Kilkenny's Nowlan Park at 3.30 pm.

The rest of the weekend's fixtures and further AA Roadwatch information can be found by clicking the links below.

Temperatures are likely to drop a little over the weekend, and the south-west will experience the first signs of rain this evening, with the possibility of thunderstorms thrown into the mix.

These are likely to spread across the country tomorrow but are not expected to dampen spirits too much and will instead contribute to hot, sticky, windy conditions, similar to what we expect from Robbie.