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The AA has published a very good nation-wide map. It has a scale of 1:300 000. You can get it on in main street bookshops in Ireland for about EUR 8. The road network is growing very fast at the moment (as of 2008). So make sure you have a map which is not older than a year.
An extremely useful resource for travelers and explorers is the website of the [http://www.osi.ie/ 'Ordnance Survey Ireland' ], who have a free (Republic of)Ireland-wide map, free to view online which goes into the minutest detail, just click into the little Ireland icon, it operates much like Google Maps. It shows all the maps one could need for travelling traveling and also shows real-life aerial photography if you click in enough times. It also shows various archaeological or historic features such as castles, megalithic tombs, stone circles etc. in your area which you could have otherwise passed by and unfortunately missed. www.osi.ie. (Just click into the little Ireland icon. It operates much like Google Maps).
== Hitchhiking to and from Ireland ==
:One way of doing it is to call some of the Dublin Removals companies who haul household contents to the UK and the continent. If you are going one way and are willing to work to unload one of their jobs they might hire you. They save on the fact that your trip is one way so they aren't paying per hour for the regular labor that would be returning to Ireland. Some of the freight companies might also give you passage and labor in the same way.
:Another way would be to take the DFDS seaways Seaways ferries that leave from Dublin port (not dun laoghaireDun Laoghaire) or Belfast. Two ferries per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. If you can find a driver who has already paid for his car + 1, then it is possible to amend that ticket and check in with the driver for only 10 euros. It would still be paying, but on the ferry you get a dinner buffet and breakfast buffet.Your driver will also get a cabin with his ticket with four bunkbeds bunk-beds in it, so you will depending on wether whether your driver wants you in the cabin or not, get a night on real sheets. (Cheapest alternative I have been able to come across if you are still to do it in any legal way.)
A good way to go about finding a driver would be to start from the toll-booths at the mouth of the port. You would have to hitchhike to the terminal of DFDS anyway as there isn't a pathway for walking all the way as there is a stretch of highway is just before the terminals 1,2 and 3 (with very big ominous signs saying you are not allowed to walk there at the beginning of the highway).
== Accomodation Accommodation and Sleeping ==All the usual hotels and hostels exist around the big touristy areas and towns, but are still quite expensive and would not be a long term solution. Camping is by far the most reliable for of long term sleeping arrangement as tucked away, empty fields can be found just minutes outside even the biggest towns. The farmers would probably appreciate your asking if you could stay but for the most part they probably wouldn't even care. Just try not to go into fields with crops or livestock and never light a fire that would be visible from a road or house. Forest fires aren't really an issue in Ireland either as it's usually so very wet. Be careful about [[Donegal]], though, because some areas tend to be very boggy without a lot of fields. You could also try [http://www.couchsurfing.org / CouchSurfing] for accommodation if you're interested in meeting local people. Most showers of rain in Ireland pass quickly but if you're unlucky enough to experience the weeks of drizzle and rain which can sometimes plague the country at any time of year you might need to cash out for a B&B to get a good nights sleep or to get a chance to dry out.
