Dunshaughlin services
(Seirbhísí Dún Seachlainn)
M3 at exit 6
(also accessible to traffic on the R125)
Not signposted in advance.
A85 HY63
map and directions
Online (
The M3's first major service area eventually opened in September 2025, bringing new brands to the Irish market.
Facilities
Catering: Braeburn Coffee, Crafted, Burger King Drive Thru, Taco Bell Shops: M&S Food Amenities: Coca-Cola Freestyle Outdoor Space: Children's Play Area; small grass verge by entry sign; short public footpath Charging Points: none Forecourt: Applegreen
Parking Prices
Parking is free for all vehicles for the first two hours only.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Applegreen
Knocks
Co. Meath
Eircode: A85 HY63
Trivia and Design
The 3 hour queue for a Taco Bell, a week after it opened.
The service area opened on 16 September 2025, following a €15million investment. It was the first Applegreen motorway site to open in nearly 10 years, and as such it contained a number of firsts, including being the launch site for the first Taco Bell in Ireland. This attracted lengthy queues, with large crowds turning out for days after it opened. Applegreen already had a relationship with Taco Bell through their UK subsidiary Welcome Break.
Dunshaughlin also launched Applegreen's new deli brand, 'Crafted', which is positioned in the corner of the building. Applegreen's other recent creation, Braeburn Coffee, has its own lounge inside a unit, as well as a separate counter in the shop. A Burger King unit, with a drive thru, is positioned at the end of the building. The shop area is branded with a mixture of M&S Food and Applegreen.
The amenity building contains a number of unusual and pleasing details, such as the fake grey brickwork in the interior, in addition to the wooden beams and louvres that Applegreen have been using on many recent Welcome Break projects.
Unlike their work in the UK, this project included upgrading the public footways all around the site, even providing a dedicated safe entry point for pedestrians and cyclists. This was a very forward-thinking addition, but it so far hasn't been connected to anything. Given the immense popularity of Taco Bell, this means a lot of customers, and even local staff, are now walking up the hard shoulder of the R125.
A government grant was expected to deliver 36 electric vehicle charging points, although only the first few are evident, and these are awaiting their mains connection. There has also so far been no progress on designating the new stop as an official motorway service area, despite it being one of the biggest examples of one.
Planning History
The new Transport Infrastructure Ireland began planning a new network of motorway service areas in 2015, with one being planned for a new junction in the Dunshaughlin area. They said it would be open by 2019, but by that date no progress had been made at all.
Applegreen, who have formed a habit of building motorway service areas faster than the government, secured planning permission to build their own service area at the existing junction, but permission was quashed in 2016 due to land zoning issues. This was eventually resolved in 2023. Circle K had objected on the basis that it would "seriously impact on the vitality and vibrancy of Dunshaughlin [town]".
Circle K's predecessor, Topaz, had previously had permission refused for their own service area further down the M3 at J5, Dunboyne. An Bord Pleanála ruled that the junction could be unsuitable, and that TII's Dunshaughlin site was better and already at the "preliminary" stage. TII have since confirmed that they suspended all work on their Dunshaughlin service area in 2020, and that they wouldn't revisit it until at least 2027; tradition so far has been that they don't build in places where operators like Applegreen are already trading.
Alternatives
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