N5 road (Ireland)
The N5 is a national primary road in Ireland, 132 km (82 miles) long, that runs from Longford town in County Longford to Westport in County Mayo. It is the main road link from Dublin (via the M4/N4) to most of Mayo, including Castlebar, Ballina, and Westport.
From Longford, the N5 goes west through Strokestown, passes close to Ballaghaderreen, and then crosses the N17 near Ireland West Airport before continuing to the west. It bypasses Swinford and Castlebar and ends in Westport. The N26 joins the N5 near Cloonlara, just east of Swinford. Along its route it also interacts with the N61 near Tulsk, the N58 near Bellanagare, and parts of the N60 and N84 around Castlebar.
The road is mostly a two-lane single carriageway, but a 20 km stretch from Westport to the Castlebar area is a four-lane dual carriageway without hard shoulders. A number of bypasses have been built to keep through traffic out of town centers. These include:
- Swinford bypass (opened in 1996)
- Charlestown bypass (opened in 2007)
- Ballaghaderreen bypass (opened in 2014)
- Castlebar bypass and the Westport dual carriageway extension (opened in 2023)
Because of these improvements, some parts of the old N5 have been redesignated as other roads, such as the R309 in Mayo.
There are plans and ongoing projects to upgrade other sections of the N5, particularly in County Roscommon, to provide safer driving and better bypasses for towns along the route.
The N5 is Mayo’s busiest road, with around 10,000 vehicles a day on the busiest section between Westport and Bellavary. Other stretches carry fewer vehicles.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:42 (CET).