Dunboyne Takes Centre Stage for the 2026 Rás Tailteann
The route for the 2026 Rás Tailteann has just been announced — and we’re thrilled to share that this year's grand finale will take place in Dunboyne!
This is a fantastic opportunity for the town and the wider south Meath area, bringing energy, visitors, and a national spotlight to our community. Over the coming weeks we’ll be putting a plan in place to ensure the finish line experience is one to remember.
The 71st edition of Rás Tailteann will take place from May 20th to May 24th, 2026.
The event will start in Portlaoise, Co Laois on Wednesday, May 20th, heading south-west to finish in the historic Limerick heritage town of Kilmallock. Stage two will see a transfer to Rathmore, Co Kerry, where a long and demanding day awaits, taking in Kenmare, West Cork, the famed Tunnel Road / Caha Pass, Glengarriff and Gougane Gap before finishing in the Rás stronghold of Banteer, Co Cork.
Another transfer brings the race to Mitchelstown, Co Cork for the start of stage three. A fast and technical stage will traverse into Wexford, finishing with an uphill drag into Enniscorthy, a town well known for producing dramatic Rás finishes.
Stage four sees Rás Tailteann return to the Wicklow Mountains for the first time in eight years, starting in Carlow and finishing in Baltinglass. Riders will tackle the iconic Drumgoff / Shay Elliott Memorial and Wicklow Gap climbs on what promises to be one of the decisive days of the race.
The final stage will again start in Carlow, before crossing the plains of Carlow and Kildare, including the Category 3 Hill of Allen, and finishing in Dunboyne, Co Meath, where three laps of a testing finishing circuit will decide both the stage winner and the overall champion of Rás Tailteann 2026.
The 2026 edition of the race is again five stages and will cover 785 kilometres along the roads of Ireland, including 21 categorised climbs.
All images are courtesy of Lorraine O’Sullivan, and the route map is courtesy of Emmet Roche.
