43 routes around the Finglas test centre in Co. Dublin, 27 of them recorded on real driving tests. Drive them with spoken turn-by-turn guidance, and hear the tricky spots before you reach them.
Free to download. A Centre Pass unlocks every Finglas route from €9.99: a one-time payment that runs from the day you buy it, so buy it close to your test. Independent app, not run or approved by the RSA.
The places learners who tested here talk about most, and what they advise. Advice sometimes differs: road markings and your instructor have the final word.
Learners often name the junction in Finglas village as the hardest part, especially the right turn into the village coming off the dual carriageway. One learner says they failed on this turn and another picked up two faults at the village junction. They advise practising it a few times and watching your position.
Learners point out a STOP sign just after you leave the car park and another at the exit of the business park, and one adds that a stop line after the main gate is easy to miss. They say the two are not close together, so come to a full stop at each and then creep forward to see.
Learners mention the right turn off Jamestown Road just outside the centre, the traffic lights after turning left out of the centre, and buses pulling in and out along the road. One learner was unsure when to cross the traffic island at the SuperValu junction to turn right.
If you turn right out of the centre, learners say you will probably go down Clancy Avenue, a very sharp, almost right-angled corner with vans and cars parked just after it. They advise taking it slowly in first gear and checking nothing is coming before moving out around the parked cars.
One learner turning left at the lights on Old Finglas Road towards Tolka Estate crossed the first line as the light went amber, stopped in the short gap between the yellow box and the pedestrian crossing, and was faulted for not clearing the junction. They describe a stop line, a yellow box, a gap, the crossing and a second line all close together, and a reply says that if you cannot stop at the first line you need to clear the junction. Another learner was caught by the lights changing while turning right at a T-junction with lights on Old Finglas Road.
One learner says to practise the run towards Ballymun Road and to watch your lanes and the filter lights there. Another was caught out turning onto Ballymun Avenue: they waited in the right-turn lane and, when told to go straight on afterwards, had to signal and end up in the middle lane to their left. A third found the Ballymun sections the easiest part, as the roads are wider and more modern.
One learner who failed here says they rushed into a small gap at rush hour while turning left onto the dual carriageway. Another describes the two roundabouts by the Lidl as tricky.
One learner turning right from Grove Road onto Ballygall Road West waited at the stop line for a gap, then pulled out once traffic from the right had stopped at the lights. A car coming out of the Tesco Express car park on the left had to brake for them, and they were faulted for observation. Their advice is to make sure the road is clear both ways before you go, not just that the lights have stopped traffic.
Learners describe Finglas routes as mostly estates with parked cars, where the limit switches between 30 and 50 km/h, so watch the signs. Some were marked for not stopping at yield junctions with a blocked view; the advice is to slow right down, stop only if you need to, and creep forward until you can see.
How many of the 43 routes use each road. The roads near the top are the ones to know well.
Distinct places across all 43 routes, and what the tester watches for at each.
Scan the footpaths early and be ready to stop.
Testers mark speeding and driving too slowly for the road.
Filter arrows and yellow boxes: never enter a box you cannot clear.
A full stop at the line every time, even when the road is clear.
Slow, look, and go only when it is safe: no rolling guess.
Lane choice by exit, a signal on approach where needed, and a left signal after the exit before yours.
Treat it like a full roundabout: observation, yield to the right, signal.
30, 50, 60, 80, 100 km/h. Know the default for each road type in speed limits, and every sign in Irish road signs.
Worked out from the Finglas routes themselves.
The Finglas routes pass 30 different roundabouts. Know which lane each exit needs before you get there; signs and road markings beat the shape of the roundabout.
Read the guideSome Finglas routes reach 80 and 100 km/h roads. Build up to a safe speed that suits the road: hesitancy and holding back are marked too.
Read the guideThere are 89 places where the limit changes. Watch for the signs, and settle at the new limit promptly.
80 sets of traffic lights across the routes. Practise right turns at lights and the yellow box rule.
Read the guide39 STOP signs across the routes. Rolling through one is a common fault; stop at the line, then creep and look.
Turas marks the likely spot for each manoeuvre on every route: quiet side roads, straight stretches and hills. Across the Finglas routes:
Works with CarPlay. Mount your phone; never hold it while driving.
27 of the 43 Finglas routes were recorded on real driving tests; the rest are practice routes on the same roads. Each is matched to the OpenStreetMap road network, and learners' shared drives are checked every week for changes. Last updated 30 October 2026. The tester still chooses the route on the day. How test routes work.
Pass rate: 46.3% in 2022 (national 53.2%). That is the RSA's latest table by centre, so treat it as a rough guide. Most fails come from things you can practise: observation, progress and lane choice. All centres.
Waiting time: about 14 weeks until you are invited to book a test, at the end of September 2026 (national average 11.9 weeks). All centres.
Addresses from the RSA's list of test centres; waiting time from RSA figures published by the CSO. Your appointment letter has the final word.
With about 14 weeks to wait at Finglas, apply on MyRoadSafety as soon as your EDT lessons are uploaded, and use the wait: learn the road signs and Rules of the Road questions the tester asks first, and drive with your accompanying driver.
Turas: Driving Test Routes for iPhone. Spoken turn-by-turn guidance on the routes around your centre, with the tricky spots called out before you reach them.
