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Most people are very happy to see backpackers hitchhiking. Even if they don't pick you up, many will motivate you by waving, honking, showing thumbs up, and so on. Drivers are very communicative here!
Long distance traveling can be a little slow, but the country isn't big. It's possible to get from one coast to the other in one day, as long as you stick to on the national (N) roads. These roads connect cities or bigger towns in the country. Usually they lead directly into the town centers, so all the long-distance-traffic has to use them. This makes it very easy to hitch a ride at the end of town. Some bigger towns have bypasses which make it more difficult, but it's usually possible to hitch a ride to the bypass.
Some national roads have a dual carriageway, so they are similar to [[motorways]], except that it is [[law|allowed]] to stand on the side of the road on dual carriageways – perfect for you, it is however dangerous in certain areas of these roads. It is technically illegal to walk or cycle on these, but the police (called guards or gards in Ireland) won't bother you.
'''For medium distances or short distances''', stick to national secondary (R) roads, though you could technically use these to get '''anywhere ''' in Ireland, but it all depends on the area.These are expanded country roads, with a lot of traffic, getting a lift/ride is, on average, easy.
It's illegal to hitch on motorways, but the Irish will still pick you up if you do it, and the police/guards aren't very likely to show up or, if they do, do more than tell you to get away. Good places to hitchhike, would be near bus stops (as there's space to park), a large driveway, but people don't mind stopping for you in the middle of a road.
