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Appendix D contains some suggestions for reading before, during and after your trip.

Gorse flowers on the hills above Lough Swilly (Route 1, Stage 4)

Gaelic sports

Gaelic football and hurling are the two most popular sports in Ireland. Both are fast and skilful games where endurance also counts. Gaelic football is a little like a cross between rugby and soccer, played on a pitch with H-shaped goals. Hurling is a stick-and-ball game played on the same pitch. The hurling stick is axe-shaped and the game far more aerial and physical than games like hockey.

Irish music

For visitors, the most common place to hear Irish traditional music is the pub. In fact some areas, such as Doolin in County Clare, seem to be building a tourist industry based almost entirely on pub music. It always pays to ask for local advice about the best venues.

Getting there

By air

The major international airports are Dublin, Shannon (near Limerick) and Belfast (Belfast International and Belfast City). Shannon is within a few kilometres of the routes in this book. Of the smaller airports, Derry/Londonderry, Cork, Knock in County Mayo, and Kerry airport offer good access to the Wild Atlantic Way. Donegal also has an airport, at Carrickfinn, near Dungloe, which currently has a handful of flights per day, mainly to Dublin.