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 lies on the Donegal side of the border with Derry, at the mouth of the River Foyle, on the Inishowen Peninsula. The 2022 census put the population at 1,418. The name comes from the Irish Magh, meaning ‘plain’. The playwright Brian Friel lived here for a time, which is more than most villages this size can claim.
Muff and the greenway
The Derry to Three Trees Greenway passes through the village. Join it from the community park for the 5 km section to Three Trees. The route includes sections beside roads. Follow the signs at crossings and share the path.
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 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 a craft spirits brand based in the village. It has closed its visitor centre for the 2026 season, so check the company’s next opening dates if you plan to visit.
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 were not, 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 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. For more active days, local operators in the area offer kayaking, sailing, horse riding and climbing; check with them directly before planning around any of it.
The fairs
Check local listings for any fairs or festivals in the village before you travel, as dates change from year to year.
Practical information
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. See Go Visit Inishowen for local listings.
The village is small enough for an afternoon: a walk on the greenway, a look at the diving-club merch online, and a stroll in Lisnagra Woods before you carry on north into Inishowen proper.