Where the Wild Atlantic Way starts
Muff is the first village on the Wild Atlantic Way, or the last, depending on which way you are driving. It sits on the Donegal side of the border with Derry, at the mouth of the River Foyle, and a sign in the centre marks the point where the 2,500 km coastal route begins. The 2022 census put the population at 1,418. The name comes from the Irish Magh, meaning ‘plain’, and the village is also an end-point of the Inishowen 100, the 160 km (100-mile) scenic loop around the peninsula. The playwright Brian Friel lived here for a time, which is more than most villages this size can claim.
The diving club and the distillery
You cannot write about Muff without the diving club, and neither can the internet. ‘Muff Diving Club’ is exactly the joke it looks like, and the club leans into it entirely: it is a real and long-running scuba club, one of the oldest and most successful in Ireland, and it sells novelty memberships worldwide, each coming with a T-shirt, a card and a certificate. There is no shopfront to visit; the whole thing lives online, which is part of the gag.
The Muff Liquor Company is the more substantial stop, on the main street beside Harkin’s Shop. It distils potato gin, potato vodka and a peat-smoked whiskey, and runs a visitor experience with tastings, a gift shop and its own bar, the ‘For The Better’ Bar. The shop and tastings run Wednesday to Saturday 11am–6pm and Sunday 1pm–6pm; the bar keeps later hours, to 10pm on Saturdays.
History and the border
Muff lies in the parish of Iskaheen, in Irish Uisce Chaoin, ‘pure waters’, named for a holy well beside an old church. The village Church of Ireland was built in 1737 by the Harts of nearby Kilderry House. There is a quieter piece of twentieth-century history too: Muff was one of several Protestant villages in east Donegal that would have been transferred into Northern Ireland had the Boundary Commission’s 1925 recommendations ever been enacted. They weren’t, and the border settled where it is, a couple of fields from the main street.
Walking and the outdoors
From the village the Wild Atlantic Way opens straight onto the Lough Foyle estuary and heads north into Inishowen. For a shorter leg-stretch, Lisnagra Woods is a local favourite for walks and picnics and home to red squirrels; the paths turn muddy after rain, so bring the right footwear. If you want more than a stroll, the coastline around Muff is set up for it: Inish Adventures runs kayaking, gorge walking, sailing, whitewater rafting, archery and orienteering, Lenamore Stables does horse riding, and Donegal Climbing takes people onto the rock.
The fairs
Muff’s calendar turns on two August events. The Fair of Muff has been held on 12 August since 1608; it began as a horse and livestock fair and is now a community day of craft stalls, music and food, with a horseshoe monument raised in 2008 to mark 400 years of it. The Muff Festival, usually over the August Bank Holiday weekend, brings céilís, parades, street parties, amusements and live music to the village.
Eating and staying
For food, Tank & Skinnys is the one locals point you to, known for its ‘Hungers Mother’ breakfast sandwich and good coffee. For a bed, The Hideaway at Ture, about 3 km from the village, offers glamping pods and a restored 1895 shore house with a hot tub, a BYOB ‘shebeen’ hut and fairy gardens; Ardmore Cottage is a self-catering option closer in.
Practical information
Getting there – Muff is roughly 20 minutes from Derry on the A2 coast road. The nearest airports are City of Derry and Donegal Airport, and a car is the sensible way to explore the peninsula. There is on-street parking in the village.
Nearby – a short drive brings you to Wild Ireland, a wildlife sanctuary that rehomes rescued bears, wolves and lynx and is a solid family day out, and to the IOSAS Centre, a nature and prayer-garden site outside the village.
The village is small enough for an afternoon: a tasting at the distillery, a look at the diving-club merch, coffee at Tank & Skinnys and a walk in Lisnagra Woods before you carry on north into Inishowen proper.