Hi John, I live in Manchester, England and we spent a week in Dublin this past October. We also went to Northern Ireland as my ancestors are from County Tyrone and our neighbours are from County Monahan. We had a great time and the countryside is gorgeous. The only caviat is to beware the new ring road around Dublin!! The Irish have come up with an ingenious plan to have a toll road around Dublin but to not install any toll booths!! (my British husband says only the Irish could come up with this idea!! LOL) If you plan to do a lot driving around Dublin then I recommend you get a pass (you can get these at certain shops) The killer is that only part of the ring road is toll. If you are going to the north of Dublin from the south of Dublin and then back to the south - you have to pay for 2 trips (coming & going). You must pay for your journey before 8pm the next day if you do not have your license plate (aka tag) registered for an account. Here is the website for the ring road tolls...... http://www.eflow.ie/tolls/index.htm Have a great time!! We did and we even had snow when were went to the Giant's Causeway!!! I can highly recommend driving to the Giant's Causeway by the road that runs along the Irish Sea - the A2....it quite a spectactular drive!! Nancy Peel By the way keep an eye on the Iceland volanco because the ash cloud closed the airports in Northern Ireland yesterday. webcam for the volcano is http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/