At the age of 50, author and runner Adharanand Finn embarked on an extraordinary physical and spiritual quest: to circumnavigate the entire island of Ireland on foot. Covering a staggering 1,400 miles in just under 10 weeks, he used running as a means of deep travel, seeking a connection to the land of his forebears.
A Personal Pilgrimage Through Ancestral Lands
Finn, whose mother was born in Dublin and father in Galway, had visited Ireland many times as a child. Yet he felt he knew only a fragment. His ambitious route began in Dublin, wound south through the Wicklow Mountains to Cork, then traced the famed Wild Atlantic Way north past Galway and Donegal, through Northern Ireland, before heading south to finish back in the capital.
Averaging over 20 miles a day, he was supported by his wife and teenage son who followed in a motorhome. The journey was less a mid-life crisis, he suggests, and more a pilgrimage—a search for meaning propelled solely by his own two legs.
The Overwhelming Warmth of the Irish Welcome
While prepared for Ireland's legendary scenery, Finn was consistently blown away by the generosity of its people. The national cliche of a warm welcome proved endlessly true. He was regularly invited into homes for food or offered a bed. On days when local runners joined him, the miles slipped by easily with conversation.
One incident perfectly captured the spirit he encountered. When a fuse blew in their motorhome, Finn found a closed hardware shop and knocked on the door—an act he’d never contemplate in England. The owner happily opened up, found the right fuse, and refused any payment.
Landscapes of Solitude and Revelation
Running through vast, open spaces—from the Cliffs of Moher to the peaks of Kerry—Finn often spent entire days in solitude. A profound moment came on the ascent of Knocknadobar, one of Ireland's holy mountains. Following the Stations of the Cross in the rain, the story of Jesus' struggle mirrored his own, shifting his mindset from grumbling to gratitude.
"The clouds parted, and below the swooping drop of the mountain the sea appeared," he recalls. Descending, he found himself in the tropical microclimate of the RHS-award-winning Kells Bay Gardens, feeling as though he’d emerged into paradise.
Hidden Gems and Fleeting Impressions
The journey revealed lesser-known treasures like the spectacular Beara Peninsula, with its pointed, lush mountains and the native forest of Glengarriff Nature Reserve. He swam in serene spots like Poulanassy waterfall in Kilkenny and marvelled at the Giant's Causeway.
His experience was intentionally fleeting, an impressionistic view of a nation. He found a country at ease, embodied in timeless pubs with nightly trad sessions, where music was a communal conversation, not a performance.
A Journey Concluded in Song and Guinness
The final run into Dublin saw Finn joined by 30 runners from across Ireland. Together they sang 'Molly Malone' along the River Liffey, finishing at Ha’Penny Bridge to the bemusement of tourists. The pilgrimage ended, as such journeys in Ireland must, in a pub with a well-earned Guinness.
Finn came away with more than just miles logged. He felt taken in and cared for by Ireland, his epic run affirming that the greatest discoveries were not just in the majestic landscapes, but in the enduring warmth of the people he met along the way.
