7 Things You Should Know about Ireland

[The Original An Gadaí]

A new story entry has been added:

7 Things You Should Know about Ireland

This article is written primarily for the North American visitor to these shores. It may be of some use to others but addresses specifically those things that I think in my infinite wisdom would be useful for the average American or Canadian visitor to Ireland. These are just a few things you should know before embarking on a vacation here.*

[Myrnalene]

Thanks for this, Aggie!

I would recommend that anyone planing to do any driving in Ireland get a GOOD atlas and have one person follow the atlas and "direct" while another person drives. Cities in particular can be tough for an American to find their way around in by car (this has been my experience, anyway). are common, and as AG says the road names sometimes change every block or so which can be incredibly confusing to the unprepared.

[What Exit?]

Indeed, thanks for this. Excellent tips in this article.

[Myrnalene]

Er, in my prior post I meant to say Roundabouts are common. I know we have them in some places in the United States but they were totally new to this Midwesterner.

What's the score on tipping over there, AG?

[The Original An Gadaí]

Myrnie, if I pay say €12 for my meal I'll typically leave €1 or €2 on the table when leaving. Sometimes, when it isn't clear who will find the tip and you've got good service from a member of staff you'll hand the tip directly to them. If say the bill came to €50 we might leave €5, maybe a bit less, maybe more if the service were excellent, but it just isn't codified the way it is in the US. I don't think it is unusual for people to just not tip at all, there is minimum wage in this country after all.