Drogheda town-centre roads will close from 5.30pm today, Friday 23 October, as the Lú Festival of Light opens for four nights. Bus Éireann has also confirmed a shorter diversion period for Route 173 this evening and on Saturday.

The changes affect people travelling into the town as well as festival visitors. The council's nightly road-closure window runs until 10pm; the Route 173 notice applies from 5.55pm to 7pm on two evenings only.

Roads closing this evening

Louth County Council's current closure notice lists West Street, St Laurence, Palace Street, Dominick's Street, Patrickswell Lane, Duke Street and Stockwell Lane. Fr Connolly Way is also listed, with local access.

Those arrangements apply from 5.30pm to 10pm each night from Friday 23 to Monday 26 October. The council says diversion routes will be signposted and emergency access maintained.

Drivers heading to town-centre destinations should allow for the diversion rather than assume they can cross the festival area by their usual route. The closure hours are traffic-management times, not a published start and finish time for every projection or activity.

Two Route 173 stops missed

Bus Éireann's planned-diversions notice, last updated at 8.34am on 22 October, says Route 173 will not serve Drogheda West Street, stop 126221, or Dominick Street, stop 126251, from 5.55pm to 7pm on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October.

During those periods, the operator says the service will run to and from Drogheda Bus Station. Its notice specifies those two dates, rather than all four festival nights. Passengers should check the operator's current notice again before travelling if they normally use either missed stop.

Parade opens the four-night programme

The council's festival announcement places the opening Spooks Parade at approximately 6.15pm on Friday, as darkness falls. The main projection locations are St Peter's Church on West Street, the Old Abbey and St Laurence's Gate.

The festival continues through Monday 26 October. The official Lú programme says no tickets are required and provides the current programme and locations. Visitors should use that programme for individual activities and any subsequent changes.

The practical distinction for tonight is that the street closures begin before the approximate parade time. Anyone arriving for the opening should plan their final approach around the 5.30pm restrictions, while Route 173 passengers need to account for the separate 5.55pm–7pm diversion. Times in this report are local Irish time.