The route for the 71st edition of Rás Tailteann has been confirmed.
The race will take place from 20-24 May and will start in Portlaoise. It will head south-west to finish in the Limerick town of Kilmallock.
Stage two will see a transfer to Rathmore, County Kerry, taking in Kenmare, West Cork, the Tunnel Road / Caha Pass, Glengarriff and Gougane Gap before finishing in the Rás stronghold of Banteer in the rebel county.
Stage 3 transfer brings the race to Mitchelstown - a fast and technical stage will traverse into Wexford, finishing with an uphill drag into Enniscorthy.
Stage four sees Rás Tailteann return to the Wicklow Mountains for the first time in eight years, starting in Carlow and finishing in Baltinglass.
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.
The 2026 edition of the race is again five stages and will cover 785 kilometres along the roads of Ireland, including 21 categorised climbs.