Active Life in Donegal

The great Irish writer Oscar Wilde once said that we can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret is to reproduce that experience as often as possible.

It’s hardly a surprise then that visitors seeking activity and adventure want to return time and time again to Donegal. Some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world provides the setting for a whole range of activities from hill-walking, cycling, surfing, kayaking, pony trekking and so much more.

“We have a people in Donegal who are truly passionate about sport living in a county that offers a huge array of activities to choose from,” said Myles Sweeney of Donegal Sports Partnership.

Proof that the people love their sport is to be found dotted among Donegal’s patchwork of green fields where you’ll find hundreds of sports fields for the many GAA, soccer, rugby and other sports teams who battle weekly in search of sporting greatness.

Of course the county is no stranger to sporting greatness having produced such wonderful sporting heroes as Shay Given, Packie Bonner, Seamus Coleman, Chloe Magee, Michael Murphy and Philip Deignan, to name but a few.

“These excellent role models and ambassadors for Donegal, often allude to the fact that their upbringing in this wonderful county  has helped them perform at the highest levels in their chosen sporting pursuits,” Myles added.

And that he suggests, is because they know that the thrill and sense of achievement they achieve from performing on the world stage, can still be found at home by someone who has conquered the climb of Mount Errigal, surfed the Atlantic off the Donegal coast or walked along the breathtaking Sliabh Liag.

“The sense of achievement from someone having completed their first 5k walk or run, someone who has taken their first lesson in canoeing, snorkelling or surfing cannot be underestimated. All have achieved, challenged their bodies and their minds and embraced their fears. It’s that kind of positive and uplifting experience that awaits visitors in Donegal. It’s no wonder people want to come back time and again to reproduce it,” Myles concluded.

Myles Sweeney is the Coordinator of the  Donegal Sports Partnership