World Borders: Northern Ireland🔴✋️☘️ To Republic Of Ireland 🇮🇪 At Liberty Bridge, Muff, Donegal

“Illusion never changed into something real” – NI *.

There are obviously loads of roads and border crossings between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and I’ve crossed that border about 100 times I’d say, given my list of visits to each country. I’ve crossed by bus, train, foot and car. This includes the Belfast to Dublin train, the Belfast to Dublin bus and the bridge border at Monaghan. It was commonplace as a kid on holidays in the 1980s – cars were always checked, trains had bombscares as Northern Ireland prepared for the 1990s of peace, agreements and a hopeful end of holy warfare. Remember, it is NOT a religious war in Northern Ireland. 😉

People who are religious and believe in God and the Bible, they don’t start wars, they don’t kill people, they are peaceful. Otherwise they are not religious, you get that right? So none of your bullshit of a “religious war”, the war is between extremists who want Ireland to be one country separate from any influence from Westminster and those who don’t. None of those people who are involved in the “war” or the “troubles” are properly religious and even if they go to church, they bullshat you with their lies.

Someday, I envision Northern Ireland breaking away from both the “UK” and the “ROI”, two entities that have caused havoc in my life. I identify more with being Northern Irish than you could ever understand. Despite our size, we boast four golf major winners, clinched the winning goal in two FA Cup finals in my lifetime (Norman Whiteside 1985, Lawrie Sanchez 1988), and made it to the quarter finals of the World Cup. The unity among the people of the six counties of Northern Ireland surpasses the scars of war. I reject that war and wholeheartedly shit on it. Onto Muff, yes Muff and Liberty Bridge.

Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland to Muff, Republic of Ireland

This particular crossing I have done loads. It’s the MUFF crossing at a place called Liberty Bridge. You drive north out of Derry/Londonderry on the main road through Ballynagard and Culmore. The road is called Culmore Road, or the A2.

Before I left Northern Ireland in 2003, my friend Chris lived in Eglinton and Derry/Londonderry and I’d often visit by car (though I’ve taken the train there too). Often I’d cross the border because the petrol prices was cheaper at Muff. There was also a garage and some shops which sold things unavailable in Northern Ireland.

Then in 2017, years on I took two Polish friends here. On a cold wet, November morning in 2017, we arrive on the Northern Ireland side of Liberty Bridge. The border is obvious and has a nice sign showing S and N to represent the river flow, and double entendre itself as the border.

Those who question that this sign post is the border need to consider the fact these signs are at the border area, maybe not the EXACT pinpoint border place, but significant enough to keep the joyous global backpacker in me excited. I buzz off passport stamps, border crossings and new currencies! So here the “N” leads you to Northern Ireland and the “S” to Southern Ireland (The Republic of Ireland). This is typically Irish  in itself, as we are actually heading into Donegal here, therefore more north and as north as Ireland ever gets! Northern Ireland isn’t even the northest part of Ireland!

I was with my two Polish friends Rafal and Julia. For both of them it was their FIRST time to cross into the Republic of Ireland! We had flown from Warszawa Modlin to Belfast and driven up from Aldergrove International Airport (in Antrim, often termed as “Belfast International Airport”). It was obvious where the border is. You can tell easily. Here are a few ways to tell for those unsure…

• In Northern Ireland, they use the Northern Irish Pound (Ulster Bank, George Best fivers, Northern Ireland)
• In Republic of Ireland, they succumbed to the dreaded “Euro” too many moons ago (“God save the Irish Punt”)
• In Northern Ireland, the road signs are darker green and written only in English
• In Republic of Ireland, the road sign green is in white here and the language is firstly in Irish Gaelic, secondly in English
• The accents of people change. Yes even close to the border.
• In Northern Ireland the road signs are in miles.
• In Republic of Ireland the road signs are in kilometres.
• The Tayto is different. The Northern Irish Tayto is nicer! I shoudd know, I’m biased and I toured the Tayto Factory!
• It feels and looks different to me. I know my homeland.

We spend some time reflecting here, before I obviously pop into the petrol station on the Republic of Ireland side to fill the car up with cheaper petrol (just about in 2017, no idea if it is still cheaper!) and buy some Republic of Ireland products I can’t get in the north.

You can see the old border buildings, the river and of course the sign changes.

Here is a video of us at the Northern Ireland to Republic of Ireland border at Liberty Bridge, Muff: