{"id":2040,"date":"2026-07-10T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=2040"},"modified":"2026-07-06T10:37:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:37:50","slug":"a-navan-pair-packed-in-their-jobs-bought-a-van-and-have-circled-the-whole-island-twice-since-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/a-navan-pair-packed-in-their-jobs-bought-a-van-and-have-circled-the-whole-island-twice-since-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"A Navan pair packed in their jobs bought a van and have circled the whole island twice since spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

They left a tidy semi\u2011D<\/strong> in Meath and the kind of calendars<\/strong> that fill themselves. Two locals from Navan slipped out of their routines, bought a second\u2011hand van<\/strong>, and lapped the coastline\u2014twice\u2014since the spring<\/strong> rains cleared. They didn\u2019t have a manifesto, only a map with fraying folds<\/strong> and a promise to see what the edges of the island<\/strong> might say back.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On their first morning out, they drank coffee<\/strong> on the harbour at Howth, the sky a pale aluminium<\/strong>, the water doing its small, reliable breathing<\/strong>. \u201cWe kept waiting for the big, cinematic moment<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh says, \u201cthen realised the point was in the small things<\/strong>\u2014heat in the mug, salt on the air<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They named the van Muir\u00edn and learned its temperament<\/strong> fast. It favours coastal<\/strong> roads, sulks on steep boreens, and at 80 km\/h it hums like a tired bee<\/strong>. \u201cPerfect,\u201d Shane grins, \u201cfor learning to slow<\/strong> down.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why they walked away<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t looking to become influencers<\/strong>, and they didn\u2019t script a grand exit<\/strong>. A redundancy rumour for him, a promotion dangled for her<\/strong>, and suddenly the future felt like a sealed envelope<\/strong>. \u201cWe realised we were negotiating over chairs<\/strong> at the same table,\u201d Niamh says. \u201cWe wanted to change the room<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They put in their notices<\/strong>, boxed their desk plants, and swapped sales forecasts for tide<\/strong> tables. \u201cPeople kept asking what we were running from<\/strong>,\u201d Shane says. \u201cI think we were running towards<\/strong> a smaller, truer day<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Making a home on wheels<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

They bought a 2012 Ford Transit<\/strong>, the kind couriers love and poets romanticise<\/strong>. They stripped it to its ribs, stuffed the cavities with insulation<\/strong>, laid pine tongue\u2011and\u2011groove like a tiny chapel<\/strong> floor. A 200W solar panel<\/strong> feeds a battery; a two\u2011burner<\/strong> hob makes tea, stew, and late\u2011night experiments with tinned peaches<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a 60\u2011litre water tank<\/strong>, a fold\u2011down desk<\/strong>, and two hooks for wet gear that get more use than any plan<\/strong>. \u201cWe measured everything in mugs<\/strong>,\u201d Shane says. \u201cIf it took more than four mugs<\/strong> of space, it didn\u2019t make the cut<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A first lap, and then another<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

They went clockwise<\/strong> first, following the south<\/strong> from Wicklow to Wexford, across to West Cork\u2019s labyrinth of inlets<\/strong>. The van learned the cadence of Kerry switchbacks<\/strong>, and their shoulders learned to unclench on the Atlantic<\/strong> side of things. \u201cSkelligs at sunset looked like the spine<\/strong> of a sleeping dragon<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh says.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They slept above Inch<\/strong> strand, woke to a choir of gulls in Baltimore<\/strong>, and ate the best chips of their lives<\/strong> in Salthill with wind as cutlery and laughter<\/strong> for sauce. Northbound, they traced Donegal\u2019s teeth<\/strong>, crossed into Antrim for gasps at the Causeway<\/strong>, and let the Mournes roll out like a duvet<\/strong> on their way home<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The second lap was anticlockwise<\/strong>, lazier, more local<\/strong>. They lingered in Dunfanaghy for music<\/strong>, discovered a baker in Ballycastle who remembered everyone\u2019s order<\/strong>, and learned the art of arriving late<\/strong> and leaving later<\/strong>. \u201cWe stopped collecting<\/strong> spots and started cultivating<\/strong> them,\u201d Shane says.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What they carried, and what they let go<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

They have a list of rules, scribbled in pencil<\/strong> on the back of a creased receipt<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • If there\u2019s a small road<\/strong> that looks like a mistake<\/strong>, take it.<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Always swim if the sea<\/strong> looks like it\u2019s thinking<\/strong> about it.<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Buy bread from the first<\/strong> place that smells like a memory<\/strong>.<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Park where the view is secondary<\/strong> to the permission of the place<\/strong>.<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • When in doubt, make a pot<\/strong> of tea and ask a question<\/strong>.<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cKindness is a motorway with no tolls<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh says. An old fisherman in Dingle<\/strong> taught Shane to tie a new knot<\/strong>, a mechanic in Sligo swapped a fan belt for two pints<\/strong>, and a librarian in Bantry let them charge a battery<\/strong> by the travel section while a storm pulled at the windows<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Counting the cost without killing the joy<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They live on about \u20ac35 a day<\/strong>, give or take<\/strong>. Fuel is a hungry beast<\/strong>, but they graze it by mapping the flattest<\/strong> routes and letting hills be hills<\/strong>. Showers happen at community<\/strong> pools, harbour blocks, or in rain so clean<\/strong> it feels ceremonial.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Savings gave them the first months<\/strong>, and odd jobs<\/strong> made the rest possible. She picks up freelance design<\/strong>, he does light carpentry and a few handyman<\/strong> rescues. \u201cOur accounts look like a patchwork quilt<\/strong>,\u201d Shane says. \u201cBut the days<\/strong> look like ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They\u2019ve learned the code of wild<\/strong> camping\u2014arrive late<\/strong>, leave early<\/strong>, take nothing but rubbish<\/strong> that isn\u2019t even yours<\/strong>. \u201cRespect is a kind of currency<\/strong> out here,\u201d Niamh says. \u201cAnd the island spends it well<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Weather, patience, and the re\u2011sizing of time<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cWeather is the third passenger<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh laughs. Plans shrink under squalls<\/strong>, then balloon in an evening calm<\/strong> that feels like forgiveness. They keep a midge net<\/strong>, a tiny fan<\/strong>, and the humility to admit the sky knows better<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Days have grown wider<\/strong>, not longer. An hour is big enough for a cliff<\/strong>, a swim, a bowl of soup<\/strong>, or all three in sequence<\/strong>. \u201cWe traded calendar blocks<\/strong> for thresholds,\u201d Shane says. \u201cMoments you cross<\/strong>, not boxes you tick<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    What they found, and where they\u2019re headed<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Home has become a verb<\/strong>, not a noun<\/strong>. It\u2019s the way the kettle sounds at 6 a.m. in Mayo<\/strong>, the clack of rain on the roof<\/strong>, the shared silence that isn\u2019t empty so much as full<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cPeople told us we\u2019d get it out of our system<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t. We got it into our bones<\/strong>.\u201d The plan now is a slower season<\/strong>, a third lap that hops to Achill, Arranmore, and Rathlin<\/strong>, stitching ferries into their patchwork map<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    If you ask them what they\u2019re most proud<\/strong> of, it isn\u2019t grit or gumption<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019ve become fluent in ordinary<\/strong>,\u201d Shane says. \u201cTea on a tailgate, a good parking<\/strong> spot, the courage to do the next small<\/strong> thing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    And that\u2019s the secret they keep finding on headlands<\/strong> and high roads<\/strong> alike: two people, one van, and a life that fits in the space between a tide turn<\/strong> and a kettle\u2019s soft, rising<\/strong> song. \u201cWe thought we were chasing freedom<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh says. \u201cTurns out freedom was the way we walked<\/strong> to the shop, the way we waved<\/strong>, the way we kept going<\/strong>\u2014slowly, and always by the water<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2050,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2040\/revisions\/2050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}