To seriously recommend Ireland

[Ionablue]

Before I start I completely get that it can be expensive, the weather is bad and many Irish residents are emigrating for accommodation & opportunities. But....
A very very large proportion of the Irish people seem put on earth specifically to restore visitors faith in human nature. Genuine and warm, great sense of humour
Many women in particular supposedly find Ireland blissfully relaxing, not just because it is a laidback culture but because the general male culture seems to revolve less around making women feel uncomfortable than in other countries.

Some of the countryside and heritage is literally heavenly. Co. Waterford, especially its western extremities eg Dungarvan. Ardmore, Lismore, is an undiscovered gem.

Yes its not cheap but the food can be exceptional.

Most ordinary people seem exceptionally well disposed to foreign visitors and many have relatives abroad.

In rural Ireland you can drive for miles without seeing a car.

The music is brilliant and the people seem enormously invested in live music.

Well, that's my tuppence.

I wouldn’t call the friendliness fake at all. You can be genuinely friendly and chatty without wanting to be someone’s BFF, surely?
Maybe the issue is simply cultural differences or misunderstandings in this regard?

😂 spot on

I like Ireland as well OP but I've only ever been there on holiday and that has a lot to do with it!

Very many problems in Ireland. Like in the whole of Europe.

A lovely old friend of mine is leaving and moving to Spain.

She'll be in for a shock if she thinks life is better there. she doesn't even speak Spanish

I grew up there, love it but had to get out. (N.I. in the seventies).....

I would disagree - most people are just friendly, you obviously get a fake person here or there but I find most people are genuine. Having lived in many places in Ireland and the UK - it is much easier to make friends in Ireland - people are much more open to going for a coffee or a pint with someone they have just met if they’re interesting. We’re also a nation of over sharers! People tend to say hi to each other if they’re out for a walk and you catch the other person’s eye, or if you both have dogs! I have a friend who left Ireland, because she just wanted to be anonymous and left alone when she went out and about in the small town she was from - where she lives now in England I would not want to live as no one really knows their neighbours so each to their own!

Some cities in the UK are very similar to Ireland (particularly in the North) but some places in England you have to live there ages before people warm up to you. It’s just a different culture really, people on average are a bit chattier as a whole (you do get your insular people in Ireland and chatter boxes in England). You get fake people, of course, just as you do every where else but most people are genuine! The rain is pretty crap and the grey skies are so awfully grey! My partner would love to move to Ireland (he’s English) as he loved it there but I do not miss the weather! As someone said, Dublin has changed a lot too so a lot of places we used to go out are now hotels and offices, it is a lot less friendly, so if I ever move back it would be somewhere like Waterford, Galway or Cork (though I have been told the rain is even worse in Galway).

Big cities are anonymous places really. So many people each with their own agenda, and people have things to do, work to go to, traffic to battle and so on. Dublin for example is a melting pot now. There are probably more foreign born workers in Docklands and Tech than Irish people. Smaller cities, towns and suburbs, even rural villages are much different. I'd say that's the same everywhere.

There is however a special sparkle about Ireland despite the weather, which isn't always bad either. Where I was born on the East Coast, all I remember is sunshine and fabulous beaches, then the Wicklow mountains. But it's easy to view things favourably through a rear view lens I suppose!

And honest to god, Irish people are great talkers. They have a special wry, witty sense of humour, and god help you if you get ideas above your station, you'll be blacklisted for having "notions".

Oh OK, you met two awful Irish people. The whole country must be shite so.

'god help you if you get ideas above your station, you'll be blacklisted for having "notions".'

Yep, that's definitely a thing and I never understand why it's spoken of so fondly. Ugh

Co. Clare is a fantastic place to live and visit. Natural beauty, diverse communities and very welcoming. I'm English and lived here for 25 years and love it.

I worked with a Spanish woman who was awful, utterly self-centred. I didnt decide based on this that all Spanish people or the country itself wasn't worth getting to know

I worked with a Spanish woman who was awful, utterly self-centred. I didnt decide based on this that all Spanish people or the country itself wasn't worth getting to know. Really disappointing to read this.

Ive known plenty of Irish folk over the years,
mostly pretty friendly, and like pint o'Guiness so they do 🥰

Did you visit Tallaght op? God's own country!

Unaccountably overlooked by Bórd Fáilte. It's a travesty.

"but because the general male culture seems to revolve less around making women feel uncomfortable than in other countries."

<hollow laugh>

Fancy visiting Ireland and missing out Cork city! 🤣

You were very fortunate to see no other cars when you were driving around rural Ireland. But on your next visit, please use your headlights!

Nah; fair enough. Whatever about the locals being or not being friendly, the really huge difference between GB and here is the space.
I think you can overlook how very, very small an island you all live in over there. Squillions of you! Whereas over here, the entire island’s population would probably fit into Brum.
I believe this difference hits you as you descend the steps after you land in Dublin/Cork etc. The air is looser! (#science)
The other thing is stress on the ears, which dramatically decreases when you are surrounded by Irish accents.
You are soothed, and all this highly technical soothing lulls you into thinking we are all the children of Dave Allen and Marian Keyes 😈

We get less rain than the UK. Ye are mental 🤣

Place is as expensive as London. Go live somewhere like Chester !

I’m Irish and live here. We have problems like every other country. It’s wet yes but not always. Last summer was a cracker!
Galway is my favourite place to be, we go there as much as we can. Get a ferry out to the islands. It’s breathtaking.
My mother is English and when I go to London I always want to stay there. The grass is always greener!

As long as you are white. Travelled around with my Syrian mate. It wasn't very welcoming to him :(

You must have been seriously unlucky so.

Unless you’ve only been three times or something?

As as sponsored by Visit Ireland as part of their 2026 advertising campaign ....

I agree it sounds lovely and was going to go in my van. But there is a huge problem for many visitors in that it's not dog friendly. Apparently hardly any restaurants/pubs let dogs in, and the culture is just not the same. Given most people go on holiday with their dogs, it will put a lot of people off visiting.

It's such a shame. While we have muzzle laws for XL bullies, they have muzzle laws for all sorts of breeds, e.g. ridgebacks, dobermans, shepherds, rotties etc.

Many areas dogs need to be on lead as well. For those of us who like to hike and spend our free time on walking holidays, it's really restrictive.

Odd, as I always assumed that culturally the ROI would be similar to us