Leap Card

Young Adult 19 - 23

If you are aged 19 to 23 years of age you are eligible for a Young Adult Card (personalised) which offers Young Adult/Student fares on public transport.

You can apply at www.leapcard.ie and the card will be posted to you

24+

To apply for your 24+ Student Leap Card you will need to go to www.leapcard.ie (choose “Buy”, and then under card type, choose “Student aged 24 +”).

Follow the instructions (you will pay for your card during this process – €10 which includes €5 travel credit).

Once you have this done,  you will be asked to proceed to an agent (MTU Students Union!) within 14 days with your order confirmation number and your MTU student ID  (we use that to verify your student status). Once verified, we will print your card there and then. Note: you must present yourself in person in order for us to process your card.

You can find out more with the Students Union or on their website here

If you are having trouble with your application or need more information about your Student Leap Card, you can check the Leap Card website HERE

Plan your Journey

Transport for Ireland have a useful website where you can plan your journey.

Airport

Dublin International Airport is located 3 hours from Cork. The easiest way to connect to Cork is to book on the Aircoach or GoBe Bus. Both companies offer direct trips from Dublin Airport to Cork City and you can book your ticket in advance. The bus will drop you off in the city centre and you can get a public bus to your accommodation.

Cork International Airport is the country's second busiest airport after Dublin and serves more than 50 destinations. The airport is located just 10 minutes from Cork City centre or 15 minutes from MTU Bishopstown Campus. You can take a taxi directly or you can get the 225 or 226 bus to the city centre and then the 205 bus to MTU Bishopstown campus.

Public Bus

There are a number of regular bus services running from MTU provided by Bus Eireann. The 201, 205, 219 and 221 stop at or near MTU Bishopstown Campus. The 205 also stops within walking distance of Crawford College of Art and Design and Cork School of Music.

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Train

Cork city's railway hub and access point to the national rail network is Kent Station on the Lower Glanmire Road, a ten minutes walking east of the city centre and directly on the 205 bus from MTU - Cork bishopstown campus. It can be very expensive to buy your train tickets at the station so we reccommend you prebook online

Private Bus

In recent years prices for seats on private buses running the Cork-Dublin and Cork-Limerick-Galway route have become very competitive - good news for visitors to Cork! A three hours journey to Dublin or Galway can cost as little as 15 euro if booked in advance or slightly more if you just turn up. Buses run from 6am until midnight in both directions. Aircoach and GoBe offer competitive prices.

Car

Ireland's intercity road system is now of the highest international standard and the two lane M8 motorway between Cork and Dublin is now entirely 120km/h resulting in journey times of only 2.5 hours. There is plenty of on-street parking in the city (2€/h between 8.30am and 6.30pm Mon-Sat) and a plethora of multi-storey car parks.

Cork is a very safe city so it is perfectly acceptable to leave your car parked on any street overnight and on-street parking can be paid for by buying paper discs (available in hundreds of shops around the city) or using your phone and signing up with Park Magic to pay by credit card.

Ferry

The hugely popular Brittany Ferries vessel the Pont Avon runs between Cork (Ringaskiddy) and Roscoff in north-western France.