Broken Down on the M9? Kilkenny's Nearest Recovery Truck

The M9 is the main road between Dublin and Waterford, 119 kilometres from the M7 at Kilcullen to the N25 at Grannagh, and more than 50 of those kilometres are in County Kilkenny. When your car stops on it, the single most important thing is how far away the recovery truck is. National breakdown networks send whoever is on their list, which on the M9 at midnight might be a truck in Dublin, Wexford or Cork. Webster's Garage is at Three Castles, just north of Kilkenny city, with a direct run to the motorway at Junction 8 (Kilkenny North), Junction 9 (Danesfort) and Junction 7 (Paulstown). For the Kilkenny stretch of the M9 we are usually the closest flatbed on the road.

We recover cars, vans, electric vehicles, 4x4s and motorbikes from the M9 hard shoulder, slip roads, junctions and the Paulstown service area, bring them off the motorway, and take them to Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford, home, or whichever garage you choose. If the fault is minor we fix it at the next junction so you can carry on. If it is not, Webster's Garage can diagnose and repair it.

Junction 7, Paulstown: the first Kilkenny junction and the service area

Paulstown is where the M9 enters County Kilkenny from Carlow and it has the Applegreen service area, the only motorway services between Carlow and Waterford. A lot of M9 breakdowns start here: cars that will not restart after a fuel stop, flat batteries in the services car park, EVs that could not get a charge, and drivers who realise something is wrong as they slow down on the slip road. We recover from the services, the slip roads and the R448 into Paulstown and Gowran, and from the motorway in both directions. Read more on our Paulstown page and Gowran page.

Junction 8, Kilkenny North: the N10 into Kilkenny city

Junction 8 is where the N10 leaves the M9 for Kilkenny city, the ring road and the N77 and N78 to Durrow and Castlecomer. It is the junction most Kilkenny drivers use and the one we attend most. The N10 between the motorway and the ring road is fast and has very few safe places to stop, so if you break down on it, get in as far as you can and stay well away from the traffic. From Three Castles we reach Junction 8 in around 20 minutes. See Kilkenny city.

Junction 9, Danesfort: south Kilkenny city, Bennettsbridge and Stoneyford

Danesfort serves the south side of the city, Loughboy, Bennettsbridge, Stoneyford and Kells by way of the N10 south link and the R713. The stretch of M9 between Danesfort and Knocktopher is long, straight and dark at night, and it is where we see a lot of tyre blowouts and cars running out of fuel or charge. If you stop here, the barrier is your friend. See Bennettsbridge and Stoneyford.

Junction 10, Knocktopher: Thomastown, Ballyhale and Callan

Knocktopher is the mid-point of the motorway through the county. It serves Thomastown and Mount Juliet, Ballyhale and the R699 across to Callan and Carrick-on-Suir. We reach it in about 30 minutes and we cover the motorway both ways from here. See Knocktopher and Thomastown.

Junction 11, Mullinavat: the last junction before Waterford

Mullinavat is where traffic for New Ross leaves the M9 on the R704. A service area has been proposed here more than once but nothing is open, so there is no fuel and no charging between Paulstown and Waterford. Breakdowns here are a long way from anywhere, and we also work with Waterford-side operators when that is faster for you. See Mullinavat.

Junction 12, Waterford: the N24, the Quarry roundabout and Grannagh

The southern end of the M9 is an at-grade roundabout (the Quarry roundabout, not signposted with a number) where the N24 to Clonmel and Limerick joins, then a short run of N9 dual carriageway to the N25 at Grannagh and the River Suir Bridge into Waterford. It is a tangle of slip roads and it is easy to misdescribe where you are, so give us the road number you were on and the direction you were heading. See Kilmacow and Waterford.

Junctions 4, 5 and 6: Castledermot, Carlow and Leighlinbridge

North of the county line we cover Leighlinbridge and Bagenalstown (Junction 6), Carlow and the Carlow service area (Junction 5, N80) and Castledermot, signed as Carlow North (Junction 4). For the Carlow junctions we are often as quick as a Carlow truck, particularly for anything that is coming back to Kilkenny. See Carlow and Bagenalstown.

Junctions 2 and 3: Kilcullen and Moone

The Kildare end of the M9, with the Kilcullen service area between Junctions 2 and 3. We recover from here for jobs coming south to Kilkenny; for anything heading to Dublin a Kildare operator is usually quicker and we will tell you so.

There are three service areas on the whole motorway: Kilcullen (Circle K, between Junctions 2 and 3), Carlow (Circle K, at Junction 5) and Paulstown (Applegreen, at Junction 7, with fuel, EV chargers, food and HGV parking). South of Paulstown there is nothing on the motorway itself for the 50-odd kilometres to Waterford. That gap is why we recover so many cars that have run out of fuel or charge between Danesfort and Mullinavat. If the gauge is low when you pass Paulstown, stop.

Irish traffic regulations prohibit stopping on a motorway except where the vehicle has broken down, been in a collision or is stopped by an obstruction. If that happens you are required to get the vehicle fully off the carriageway to the left as soon as you can, to contact the Gardai as soon as possible, and to accept help offered by the Gardai or the road authority. The Road Safety Authority's advice is just as simple: hard shoulder, hazard lights, leave the vehicle by the doors furthest from traffic, get behind the safety barrier and stay there. Do not try to repair the car. Do not place a warning triangle. Do not cross the carriageway. If you cannot get off the live lanes, stay in the car with your seatbelt on and ring 112 or 999.

The M9 is part of the national motorway network managed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). The orange emergency phones on the hard shoulder connect to the Motorway Traffic Control Centre (0818 715 100) and report your location automatically, and the blue location signs every 500 metres tell you the road, direction and distance so that you can give an exact position by mobile. A vehicle left on the hard shoulder is a hazard, and one that cannot be moved promptly may be removed by the road authority with the cost recovered from the owner. The quicker a recovery truck reaches you, the simpler and cheaper the whole thing is.

One more thing drivers forget: the hard shoulder narrows or disappears at some bridges and junctions on the M9. If you can limp to a slip road or an off-ramp, that is far safer than stopping on the main line. If you cannot, stop, get out and get behind the barrier.

M9 breakdown recovery: common questions