The Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland

The Wild Atlantic Way is the most exciting tourism project to emanate in Ireland in recent times. It is a new 2,500km (1,553 miles) touring route, stretching from Malin Head in County Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork along the western Atlantic coastline. It is designed to have an international appeal like Highway 101 and the Pacific Coast Highway in the United States, the Great Ocean Road in Australia and South Africa’s Garden Route. The Wild Atlantic Way, launched in February 2014 by Tourism Minister Michael Ring, is the longest coastal tourist route in the world. It traverses the entire rugged and spectacular west coast of Ireland over nine counties and three provinces from Cork through counties Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo,Leitrim to Donegal. It incorporates amazing scenery with several pristine beaches, mountains, valleys, lakes, delightful vistas and numerous attractions like Malin Head in Donegal, the most northerly point in the country, and Mizen Head in Cork, the most southern. According to the Department of Transport and Tourism, it includes 500 visitor attractions, 53 blue flagged beaches, 120 golf courses and 50 loop walks. Very few will take in the entire journey in one visit. Visitors can dip in and out as they desire and explore the route in accordance with their interests. There are 159 Discovery Points along the route, sites of special interest. The objective is to link attractions along the route together to attract visitors and enrich their experiences.

The Wild Atlantic Way is already a huge success with all areas reporting increased numbers, including attracting many visitors from other parts of Ireland. Several new small businesses have been established along the route, with increased demand for existing enterprises. The Wild Atlantic Way is well signposted along the entire route.

Bernard O'Hara's latest book entitled Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish is now on sale in the USA and UK as a paperback book at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or Barnes and Noble

It is also available as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).

An earlier publication, a concise biography of Michael Davitt, entitled Davitt by Bernard O’Hara published in 2006 by Mayo County Council , is now available as Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).