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Ammar Albadi and his backpack that have traveled around the country. Facebook

This Omani student loved Ireland so much he just walked around the entire island

Ammar Albadi will finish in front of the GPO this evening.

A STUDENT WHO has walked over 2,000km around the whole of Ireland is set to finish his epic journey at 7.16pm (19:16) later this evening.

Ammar Albadi says he is looking forward to an ice bath for his overworked feet and aching back that have carried him and and his 15kg backpack for 40 long days.

The Omani student has been in Ireland for five years, first studying English and then engineering in DCU for four years.

Speaking to to TheJournal.ie from Dún Laoghaire in south Dublin only hours from his final destination, he says he loves the country and just wanted to see more of it:

I just like the country and I’ve been with the Hiking Society in DCU for three years and it was just an idea that came to me. When I was doing my internship I couldn’t keep it out of my head so I just went for a walk. I just like the country and I like the people and what better way to see a country than walking it.

Albadi has been updating his Facebook page everyday throughout his trip, letting people keep tabs on the different legs of his journey.

Dublin to Drogheda to Dundalk to Belfast to Derry, Letterkenny, Westport, along the coast of Galway and the Ring of Kerry and back up the east coast again.

PastedImage-84589 Ammar has been Facebooking and Snpachatting daily to keep his friends posted on his progress. Facebook Facebook

Along his journey, Ammar says he hasn’t “cheated” by getting lifts anywhere, only hopping on a ferry once out to Valentia Island.

During the night, he stayed in hostels and B&Bs but when he couldn’t find a bed he set up camp in his tent, camping in some random spots from beaches to the Burren.

And people’s reactions when they found out what he was doing?

“The say ‘you’re crazy, you’re crazy but keep doing what you’re doing’. All they way around people kept offering me lifts but I kept saying I’m walking, I’m just walking.”

On my first day I was walking from Dublin to Drogheda and a guy stopped me on the road and asked me where I was going. I said I’m going to Dublin, he said ‘you’re going the wrong way’. I said I’m going the right way, I’m just going the long way.

PastedImage-41848 Facebook Facebook

On average, Albadi has been walking about 10-14 hours each day, trying to average 50km dependant on the weather and the terrain, even so he insists he’s not tired:

I was tired on the first week but today, no I’m not tired today. I’m just happy to finish it. I’ve had hard days, I’ve seen hard days but you know by then when it finishes I am happy that I can tell good stories.

The student says that some of his hardest days were along the Dingle Peninsula when he was walking in heavy rain and on exposed roads that are more suitable for driving than walking.

But even though those days may have been tough, he says that beautiful part of the country could well be his favourite.

Today though is all about finishing, and he’s even planned that his finish will celebrate the country he’s just traversed.

PastedImage-27055 Ammar is back in the capital after going the long way round the island of Ireland. Facebook Facebook

“I’ll finish it in front of the GPO,” he explains.

I was planning on walking 2,000km in 40 days but then I just wanted to thank the Irish who are proud of their history. So I wanted to celebrate the anniversary of 1916-2016. So I decided to finish it with 2016km and finish it on front of the GPO at 19:16.

Read: Sunny weekend ahead with highs of 25 degrees early next week >

Poll: Are Dublin hotel rooms over-priced? >

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    Mute David cotter
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:01 PM

    Bernie…Bernie come back ..we’re sorry don’t leave us with this muppit….

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    Mute SFAnkleTapper
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:10 PM

    @David cotter: if it was Bernie v Trump…then Trump would definitely win…. he’ll probably win anyway but Bernie would make it a certainty.

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    Mute Corporate capitalism is killing us
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:17 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Trump would disagree with you. He’s on tape as saying Sanders would have beat him in 2016 and a lot of Trump voters would have voted for Sanders also.

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    Mute Benedict XVI
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:23 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: What on earth are you talking about? Every single recent poll has Bernie Sanders and Biden both beating Trump in a general election. Not even Fox News has Trump winning.

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/

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    Mute SFAnkleTapper
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:52 PM

    @Benedict XVI: would they be the same polls that had Hillary as a shoe in? Btw I’m no Trump supporter.

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    Mute SFAnkleTapper
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:54 PM

    @Corporate capitalism is killing us: your actually using Trump as a basis for a credible story….

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    Mute Macus Mc Mahon
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:00 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Biden is a bumbling clown who needs to retire, check his gaffes on YouTube. Bernie would be far stronger them sleepy Joe.

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:01 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Biden’s greatest strength is that it is Trump he is going to be running against. Trump makes Biden’s weaknesses less blatant and Biden is a clear contrast to the type of president Trump is. If it was Biden competing against any other candidate, then I wouldn’t bet on Biden. But with Trump anything is possible (both for Trump and against Trump).

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    Mute Morning Gus
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    Apr 12th 2020, 4:14 PM

    @Benedict XVI: Don’t believe those polls and don’t be taking it too serious. You are most likely going to be disappointed when the results come in.

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    Mute Tom Doyle
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    Apr 12th 2020, 5:00 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Even though it hurts me to say this,i agree with you in saying that Biden has a much better chance than Bernie.Where I won’t agree with you is dissing the polls that Benedict put up,Trump is not up against Hillary this time.Also,he’ll struggle in the Rust Belt..

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 12th 2020, 6:47 PM

    @Corporate capitalism is killing us: brilliant, Trump saying that was to try to further divide a very fractured democrat party not an actual acknowledgement that he could have lost.

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    Mute david lydon
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    Apr 13th 2020, 7:09 AM

    @David cotter: Bernie is from Ireland? Or do you watch the West wing too much

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    Mute Patrick Paul
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:15 PM

    I thought Democrats where bad when they selected Hillary Clinton as there presidential candidate 4 years but they’ve really outdone themselves this time round

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    Mute David Shiels
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:05 PM

    America always gets the politicians it deserves.

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    Mute Kevin O' Brien
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:17 PM

    @David Shiels: This is a recurring theme for you, am I right? For the record, I like Joe Biden. I would have preferred Bernie.

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    Mute Ale Ceaser
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:17 PM

    @David Shiels: Like us? Haughy, Cowan, Ahern, Adams etc.

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    Mute Macus Mc Mahon
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:06 PM

    @Kevin O’ Brienhttps://youtu.be/-rUvUxynOgk

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    Apr 12th 2020, 5:46 PM

    @Macus Mc Mahon: ok

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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:09 PM
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    Apr 12th 2020, 6:06 PM

    Sanders making a habit of giving up. His voters must be p*ssed off at this.

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    Mute Gerald OBrien
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    Apr 12th 2020, 11:14 PM

    The only way Biden will win is if he has a decent vice president nomination or if the trump brigade give up on their chosen one. Biden has completely lost the left and continues to put his foot in it further.

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    Mute Mark Reid
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    Apr 13th 2020, 1:22 AM

    @Gerald OBrien the left have lost themselves

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