Ireland: country facts, travel advice and health

Uber: ride-hailing, still catching on and mostly limited to the cities.Transport for Ireland: timetables and journey planning for trains, buses and rural Local Link.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Cards or cash

Mostly cashMostly cards

Step 4 of 5: Cards are taken in most places, but a little cash can still help.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Money in Ireland

Euro · € · EUR

Irish cash machines usually charge no fee, though your own bank still might.

Non-EU visitors after a VAT refund should ask how the shop handles it before paying.

Booking trains ahead saves a little, guarantees a seat and skips the ticket queue.

Arriving by ferry, buy a combined ferry and rail or bus ticket instead of separate ones.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Collect Euro in CointryOur sister app for coin and banknote collectors · cointry.appOpen

Public holidays in the next 12 months

Fri, 25 Dec 2026 · Christmas Day Lá Nollag

Sat, 26 Dec 2026 · St. Stephen's Day Lá Fhéile Stiofáin

Fri, 1 Jan 2027 · New Year's Day Lá Caille

Mon, 1 Feb 2027 · Saint Brigid's Day Lá Fhéile Bríde

Wed, 17 Mar 2027 · Saint Patrick's Day Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Fri, 26 Mar 2027 · Good Friday Aoine an Chéasta

Mon, 29 Mar 2027 · Easter Monday Luan Cásca

Mon, 3 May 2027 · May Day Lá Bealtaine

Mon, 7 Jun 2027 · June Holiday Lá Saoire i mí an Mheithimh

Mon, 2 Aug 2027 · August Holiday Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa

Mon, 25 Oct 2027 · October Holiday Lá Saoire i mí Dheireadh Fómhair

Source: Nager.Date · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

02Free

Safety today

Germany, the US and the UK publish their travel advice openly. Here is what those that cover Ireland say, side by side, checked daily.

German Foreign Office says

No travel warning

Calm ●

Caution

Serious

Don’t go

Source: Auswärtiges Amt
Updated 13 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

U.S. Department of State says

Exercise normal precautions

Calm ●

Caution

Serious

Don’t go

Level 1 of 4

Source: travel.state.gov
Updated 19 Mar 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

UK Foreign Office says

No advice against travel

Source: GOV.UK
Updated 4 Sept 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Countrywise is a summary. The official page is authoritative.

03Free

Health

Get routine vaccinations up to date before travelling.

Vaccinations

Get your routine vaccinations up to date before you travel.

Talk to a travel clinic 4–8 weeks before you go.

Source: CDC
Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Summarised from the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages. Using them does not mean the CDC endorses Countrywise.

04Travel layer

In the app: the travel layer

The travel layer

Read a country like someone who’s been there.

What’s different from home, and what’s the lawMust-see places, free entry and World Heritage sites20 words to remember, with pronunciationStrange and surprising factsThe anthem and national symbolsSaved for offline use

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Must-see · 1Dublin

The lively capital and the most international city.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Strange & surprising · #1

Ireland has no snakes: they never came back after the Ice Age, and nobody brought any.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

National anthem: Amhrán na bhFiann. The lyrics, translated, and the story are in the app. Source: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

2 World Heritage sites in Ireland, each with a photo and its story, in the app. Source: UNESCO World Heritage List

05Free

Deep facts

Economy
GDP	≈ $721.7 billionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Per person	≈ $131,592Source: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Top exports	vaccines, packaged medicine, nitrogen compounds, integrated circuits, hormones (2023)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Population
Population	5.5 millionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Median age	40.5 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Life expectancy	82 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2024 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Religions	Roman Catholic 69.2% (includes lapsed), Protestant 3.7% (Church of Ireland/England/Anglican/Episcopalian 2.5%, other Protestant 1.2%), Orthodox 2%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 1.6%, other 1.4%, agnostic/atheist 0.1%, none 14.5%, unspecified 6.7% (2022 est.)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · 2022 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Geography
Area	70,273 km²Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Climate	temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the timeSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Terrain	mostly flat to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coastSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Government
Type of government	parliamentary republicSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Calling code	+353Source: libphonenumber · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

About the data

Written from the sources we link, and checked against them before each release. Countrywise summarises public sources. We are not an official source. For safety and entry rules, always follow the official page we link to.

From your foreign ministry when it publishes its advice openly (Germany, the US, the UK). Otherwise we show those three side by side. Checked daily, with the date next to every entry.

CDC · 24 Oct 2026 ↗GOV.UK · 24 Oct 2026 ↗IANA Time Zone Database · 23 Oct 2026 ↗libphonenumber · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Nager.Date · 23 Oct 2026 ↗The World Factbook (archive) · 23 Oct 2026 ↗U.S. Department of State · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Unicode CLDR · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikidata · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikivoyage · 24 Oct 2026 ↗World Bank · 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Flag artwork from flag-icons (MIT licence).