Travel Ireland

Bord Failte - Irish Tourist Board Homepage.

Aer Lingus - Irish State Airline.

Autopoint - Car Hire.

CIE - Irish Transport Service.

Hidden Ireland - Magnificent Country Houses to stay in (If you've plenty of money).

Hostel Ireland - Hostels to stay in if you haven't.

Bord Failte - Accommodation Search
for the rest of us.

Farmer's Journal - Weather Forecast for week ahead. Updated on Thursdays.

Adlib Eaterie - Searchable Restaurant Directory
Site now WAP enabled.
But see Concerns about mobile phone use

Entertainment Ireland - Self Explanatory.

Ticketmaster - Book for concerts, theatre,sport etc.

The following is an unqualified layman's personal advice, for what it's worth......

WEATHER : - The Irish weather can make or break a holiday, depending on whether or not you're prepared for it. Ideally, check out the Irish Weather Forecast before coming, and when fine, sunny weather is forecast for a few weeks (a rarity), and that's what you want, hop on a plane.

Failing that, come prepared, especially if intending to tour the West, or mountainous/coastal areas. Read the Irish Weather page. Bring some warm clothing, raingear, and windproof outer gear.

Weather-proof your holiday by setting aside time for indoor sightseeing in the cities and towns, or having a quiet or noisy drink in a country pub somewhere. Check the main evening radio or TV weather forecasts every day and plan accordingly.

And, bring beachwear. The sun does shine here, and from late spring to autumn we can get periods of very pleasant, warm, sunny weather.

A CHANGING IRELAND : - If you've been thinking of visiting Ireland, don't put it off too much longer. Ireland is changing fast - it has recently overtaken the U.S. as the world's largest software exporter, is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and new house and new car sales are at record levels.

And just as we need effective planning more than ever, our system has finally been revealed as corrupt, with a collection of thieving scumbags from Charles Haughey, retired Taoiseach, (leader of the government) to Padraig Flynn, currently(!) Ireland's EU Commissioner, to George Redmond, retired Assistant Dublin City and County Manager, among many other elected TD's and councillors, being found to have taken large cash bribes from big business, usually in relation to planning applications.

More on bad Planning in Ireland

Partly as a consequence of all this, while there's still great beauty, honesty and soul to be found here, and a greater appreciation of our past and of our land, there's also rapidly growing ugliness, traffic, pollution and litter, indiscriminate building everywhere, with more and more greenery being chewed up into concrete, tarmac and plastic. There is also a more hurried approach to life, and a decline in traditional Irish friendliness.

On a different subject, you should be aware that some Irish people are racist, so, especially if your skin is dark, you may experience unfriendliness, and ignorant or unpleasant comments in public. There have also been attacks on tourists, mainly in Dublin, but I have no figures to compare the crime rate against tourists in Ireland with the crime rate in other tourist destinations (I think it's still relatively low, especially outside Dublin).

Some points about Racism in Ireland 1997.
More January 2000.

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Some More positive news

Last updated October 2000.
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