JJ Kavanagh & Sons Reviews 

I have had the pleasure of interacting via email with Sheelagh at JJ Kavanagh bus company recently and she has been excellent at communicating and providing help with scheduling/rescheduling some travel arrangements for my boys traveling from the US. Her customer service is outstanding, and she is a credit to your company. Great job Sheelagh and thank you!

I've been using this bus service every time I come home to Ireland. I get the airport bus to Port Laois. I've always found the drivers professional and the buses clean and well equipped. Last Friday I left a bag on the bus, with all my daughter's new birthday presents in it and put passports 😭. Thankfully it was handed on by the driver. We were informed we needed to collect it from one of their depots. My step father didn't know this so headed down to collect it from another depot, but it wasn't there. They very kindly put the bags on a bus the next day so we didn't need to make the journey twice but could collect the bag in PortLaois! Very impressive! Everyone we spoke to was incredibly helpful and supportive. Very impressive operation!

First of all I had a hard time getting on the bus because the bus driver tried to tell me that my leap card isn’t valid if it’s faded but I told him that’s not true and I can log into the app and show him my leap card number and my id with my name because you can’t replace a young adult leap card unless you make a new account and pay again which I’m not doing. Then there was no space at the back of the bus so I had to sit at the front and I had to answer an important call and the bus driver said I wasn’t allowed to take it but I couldn’t not take this phone call and there was no space in the back so honestly it was just an overall humiliating and uncomfortable experience. It was the 735 route from Portlaoise to Limerick and honestly the bus drivers on this route can be very rude and I’ve especially noticed they’re more rude to women. The online process to book is easy though so I couldn’t give a one star for that. I’ve enjoyed using jj kavanagh’s service on different routes and they’ve always been amazing and easy but if you’re going from Limerick to Dublin or any spot along that way, I would recommend the train to be honest.

⭐☆☆☆☆

Extremely disappointed with JJ Kavanagh’s concert bus service to the Dermot Kennedy concert on 12th July.

Our bus was due to leave Dooley’s Hotel, Waterford at 1:00pm. We arrived at 12:30pm, along with around 20 other passengers, and waited for the bus. It never arrived. There was no communication, no explanation and no attempt to contact any of us, despite JJ Kavanagh having our contact details.

We were left to sort the situation out ourselves, going from bus to bus asking drivers if anyone knew what was happening. The only reason we made it to the concert was because Jack, one of the Dublin Airport bus drivers, went above and beyond by giving us a lift to Carlow and helping us find a solution. He is a credit to the company.

The complete lack of organisation and communication was unacceptable. We paid for a service that was never provided and should never have been left stranded wondering if we’d make the concert.

I hope JJ Kavanagh takes responsibility for what happened, refunds those affected and ensures this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Paid 45 euro for a Dermot Kennedy concert bus ticket and bus never showed up were thrown on a Dublin airport bus over an hour and a half later and thrown off in Carlow for another 40 minute wait for someone to pick 35 plus people up from Carlow . Woman answering phones for there customer service is very ignorant and doesn’t want to be of any help .

Went to see pitbull in marly park and had a terrific journey bus driver waine not only got us their and back safe and sound but was also a delight to travel with. His humorous but professional qualities truly add to the day’s experience.

Had tonwait 40 mins in Carlow and a full hour after a concert for before bus would leave. Utter rubbish never again

Had bad experience with 2 concerts.Bus to Alanis morrisette in Cork was meant to pick up at 1pm.Bus didn't arrive until nearly 2.Was just about to leave thinking it wasn't coming. No apology. Very ignorant driver with bad English.Going around in circles in Cork.No toilet paper. Water coming up out of toilet. 1bag for everyone's rubbish.
Had booked bus for Lewis Capaldi,leaving at 3pm.No sign of bus.Rang ,they said bus on road near us.Bus never came.Rang again, said bus had stopped which it hadn't.Had to wait for 6.05 bus that came at 6.25.so nearly 4hrs waiting. Missed opening acts and first 3 songs of Lewis Capaldi.They sent email with location of bus home after concert but there was no bus.Spoke to jj kavanagh driver and he said no other bus .luckily we met people who offered to drive us home .Would never travel to a concert with them again. Unreliable, unhelpful and not cheap.

My friend and I bought bus tickets to Calvin Harris a week and a half before the concert then less than 48 to the concert my friend got an email saying his ticket was gone as they overbooked the bus

Bought a ticket for bus to Calvin Harris and then a week and half later got an email 2 days before the concert to say the bus was overbooked and I was put off the bus. A shower of cowboys if you ask me.

We recently booked a return coach trip to a concert in Thomond Park,
The bus was scheduled to leave Nenagh at 15:30 but it was 16:20 before it eventually arrived. We had the option of taking various other buses into Limerick but didn’t as we required the service home.

On arrival at our destination which was a 15 minute walk from Thomond Park we were told to meet our bus at 23:59 that night at the same location.

We arrived at our collection point at 23:50 and waited until 00:07 at which point we felt we had no choice but to book a taxi due to the time.

Overall, I would highly recommend against this company as it requires a premium price of €38 per person without anything close to a premium service,

Paid 45€ for a bus that was going directly to the Aviva (event bus)for it to not show up, waited over an hour to get on the airport bus along with 15 others and when we got to Dublin- Wayne a driver, got on the bus talking to us as if we were kids being pure ignorant basically telling us to get over it.. after missing the opening acts of the concert and being late.. AFTER PAYING FOR THE BUS FOR THE CONCERT!!! Joke of a company.. customer service isn’t any better either!! Will stick to Kelly’s travel from now on.. at least they are reliable 😊

Bus driver a few weeks back told me they were switching to cashless payments and need to use card when i offered cash to use the bus, luckily i had both at the that time. I went to use the bus today (20/06/26) from urlingford into kilkenny, and a different bus driver told me they only take cash when i only had card this time. Had to get off the bus and head back home since its the only bus that arrives in kilkenny at a reasonable time. Very confusing experience and cost me seeing a loved one for another 2 weeks, due to our work and other schedules.

Missed my bus from Kilkenny to Dublin City because they changed the stop location without updating the signage at the physical bus stop. Driver went straight past me even though I was waving him down to stop.

Took me an extra 3 hours to get home. Emailed JJ Kavanagh for a refund of my fare, and received a dismissive response from customer support rep Paul, who attached my own ticket to the email and told me the location was “clearly updated on your ticket. Sorry you missed your bus.”.

If a customer regularly books à ticket for a certain route, and all of the signage for the bus stop hasn’t been updated, and there has been NO updates informing the customer of the change, they’re not going to notice an updated pinpoint on a ticket PDF.

I still haven’t been refunded for a service I paid for but did not receive due to poor communication. I used to go out of my way to recommend this company to others, but never again. Disgusted.

The bus drove past me on Eden Quay in Dublin, guess I’m staying in Dublin tonight. Terrible service

Had a great time, Brian our driver was very informative and entertaining. He was the best coach driver ever!

Absolutely appalling service. I looked at the Nenagh to Limerick timetable online. It stated in black and white clearly that there was a quarter past four bus leaving at Kickham street. I waited for the bus and it eventually turned up. I then asked the driver if he was he going to Limerick. He abruptly told me “No” and walked off. I asked him why have you 4.15 on your timetable if the bus isn’t going at that time and he said the collages are off and the timetables are two years old. He abruptly said to me to buy a ticket online and not come down to buy one on the bus in future. I was very annoyed and complained to him but received no apology or acknowledgment. He was a completely rude ignorant man. If that’s the way you choose to run your business with timetables that are completely inaccurate and incredibly rude drivers and with complete incompetence. I will no longer be using this bus service again.I have been a loyal customer for over 30 years. You knowingly have no clear notice for customers on your website. Your drivers seriously need a course in customer care and how to speak to customers in the future. I would not recommend this service to anyone.

Really pleased with the service I must say. I boarded the evening bus from Roscrea to Dublin Airport. Being exhausted that day I collected my check in luggage but left my bag pack in the bus. Once inside the airport I realised I didnt have my bag pack on me & my travel docs & passport was in it. I rushed to Zone 16 to check if the driver was still there but he left. Another driver named Leszek asked me to stay calm & offered to help me out like a God sent angel & loaded my bags in & took me with him in his big bus that came from Waterford which wasn't even my route & he tried to find the driver of the bus i was in. After trying 2 or 3 places in the big long bus through the busy Dublin traffic he finally succeeds to find the bus driver & retrieve my bag pack. Leszek went out of the way to help me out after his long journey. Such a lovely person he is. Thanks buddy if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be able to make the trip that day. I'd highly recommend JJ KAVANAGH because their journeys are really comfortable and their service is I've experienced was really above & beyond.

Can anyone tell me has the 2am bus from Dublin Airport to kilkenny city is it no longer in service the earliest is 4.45am no matter what way I try l can't seem to find out

Thanks a long shot putting it up but the time table is incredible poor

Got on a bus in nenagh towards limerick.. asked the driver for a single ticket. 11 euro, no problem. I take out the correct amount in cash and the driver proceeds to tell me that they dont accept cash.. meanwhile, im looking at a sign right in front of me that clearly says, "card payments preferred" now unless I'm mistaken, that implies that I can still pay by cash.. so i said to the driver, until your sign states that it is "card payments ONLY" I can, and will be paying in cash.. the driver responded by saying that he would pay for the ticket with his card and I could give him cash in exchange, which i thought was actually a very sound thing to do.. i gave him the cash for the ticket and he ushered me on, but didn't actually give me a physical printed ticket.. now im not 100% sure that this is the case, so im not accusing him of anything, but I got the impression that he put the cash in his pocket and didn't actually make the card payment for the ticket... either way, im delighted I was allowed board the bus so no complaints there.. I just think that for one, if it's actually card ONLY, then thats what it should say on the signs and not say PREFERRED. and secondly I feel like I should have been printed a ticket as a proof of purchase.. otherwise he could quite possibly have just pocketed my money..