Both the Republic and the North have a wide range of daily and weekly newspapers, the latter often county-based in their coverage. The choices for Ireland-based TV are more limited both sides of the border, but there’s an abundance of local radio stations, together with several national stations in the Republic.
Newspapers and magazines
The Republic’s most popular middlebrow newspapers are the Irish Times and the more populist Irish Independent. Though generally liberal, if sometimes tinged by old-fashioned Ascendancy attitudes, the Times offers comprehensive news coverage of events both at home and abroad and often excellent features – its website www.irishtimes.com also has plenty of listings. The Independent (www.independent.ie) has a more right-of-centre outlook, while the Irish Examiner (formerly the Cork Examiner; www.irishexaminer.com) has a Munster-based focus and generally less analytical coverage of news. Sundays see the publication the Sunday Independent (same website as its daily sister), and the Sunday Business Post (www.sbpost.ie), which offers a wider selection of stories than its name implies. British newspapers are commonly available in Dublin and other cities and some produce Irish editions.
Every county has at least one weekly newspaper, often conservative and usually crammed with local stories of little interest to outsiders. However, some, such as the Kerryman, the Kilkenny People and the Donegal Democrat often provide good coverage of local events and very readable features. To delve deeper into the seamy world of Irish politics, turn to the monthly Village (www.villagemagazine.ie) or the satirical fortnightly magazine Phoenix (www.thephoenix.ie).
The North’s two morning dailies, both tabloids, are the Nationalist Irish News (www.irishnews.com) and the Unionist News Letter (www.newsletter.co.uk), while Sunday sees the Sunday World (www.sundayworld.com). The widest circulation however belongs to the evening broadsheet Belfast Telegraph (which now comes out around noon and has a very informative website (www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk); its Unionist stance has become progressively more liberal over the years. Also worth purchasing is the biweekly Derry Journal (www.derryjournal.com). All UK national daily and Sunday papers are also available in the North.
Television and radio
In the Republic, the state-sponsored Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; www.rte.ie) operates three TV channels. As well as imported shows, the main news and current affairs channel, RTÉ 1, also features the popular home-grown Dublin-based soap, Fair City, and Friday’s Late Late Show, a long-standing chat and entertainment institution. RTÉ 2 is a little more bubbly, with a smattering of locally produced programmes, though still swamped by imported tat and overburdened by sporting events. Some of the most innovative viewing is provided by the Irish-language channel TG4 (which provides English subtitles; www.tg4.ie), including excellent traditional-music shows and often incisive features on the culture of Irish-speaking areas. The independent channel TV3 (www.tv3.ie) churns out a dire mix of dated films and imported soaps and sitcoms, while its sister channel 3e offers even more programmes you’ll be very keen to miss. In most of the Republic, the four major British terrestrial TV channels are available on cable or satellite, as well as a vast number of other digital and freeview channels such as Sky, CNN and Eurosport. The Republic also has its own dedicated cable/satellite sports channel, Setanta (www.setanta.com).
RTÉ also operates four radio stations, three of which are English-language: the mainstream RTÉ Radio 1 (FM 88–89), whose morning shows are largely devoted to current affairs and chat; RTÉ 2FM (FM 90–92), which is more music- and youth-oriented; and Lyric FM (FM 96–99), which mixes popular classics with jazz and occasionally inspiring world-music shows. Raidió na Gaeltachta (FM 93) is the national Irish-language station, with broadcasts including much traditional music. The national commercial radio station, Today FM (FM 100–102), offers a largely bland schedule of MoR music shows, and Newstalk (FM 106–108) is self explanatory. There are also numerous local radio stations across the Republic.
Northern Ireland receives television and radio programmes from the BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland) and has a limited, if often keenly followed, number of locally produced current-affairs productions. On BBC Radio Ulster (FM 92.4–95.4), Talkback (Mon–Fri noon–1.30pm) offers lively discussions on the North’s political situation. The BBC’s main commercial rival, Ulster Television (www.u.tv) relies on the standard ITV diet of soaps and drama. In most parts of the North you can also watch or listen to RTÉ programmes.
Culture and Etiquette
Ireland likes to describe itself as the land of Cead Míle Fáilte (“a hundred thousand welcomes”), which you’ll often see inscribed on pubs, and that’s essentially true for most visitors. In terms of general etiquette, wherever you go, you’ll encounter the standard Irish greeting – an enquiry about your health (“How are you?” sometimes just abbreviated to “About you?” in parts of the North) and it’s reasonable to return the compliment. Also, if someone buys you a pint in a pub, then an even-handed gesture is to pay for the next round.
Children
Children are very well received, though few places, including cafés, hotels and many key attractions, are actually designed with them in mind. Baby supplies are readily available and most B&Bs and hotels welcome children, and an increasing number have cots. It’s usually fine to take a child into a pub during the daytime, though definitely not so legally in the Republic after 9pm.
Women
Irish women’s economic and social status has much improved over the last couple of decades, with the Republic even outranking Germany and the Netherlands in terms of gender equality. Whether this progress has extended beyond the major cities is debatable, though, as rural areas often preserve entrenched sexist attitudes.
In terms of the travel experience, female visitors are unlikely to encounter problems. For all their charm and prodigious drinking, Irish men tend to be remarkably polite around women and the most you can expect is the odd cat call or drunken chat-up line. However, as with anywhere, if you’re travelling alone or to an unfamiliar area, it’s worth adopting a cautionary attitude, particularly when enjoying pubs and nightlife. In the rare case of experiencing a serious personal assault, it’s worth contacting either a rape crisis centre (t1800778888, wwww.rcni.ie in Dublin, (t028/9032 9002, wwww.rapecrisisni.com in the North), or the Tourist Assistance Service (Mon–Fri t01/661 0562, Sat & Sun t01/666 8109, wwww.itas.ie), as local police forces are unlikely to be experienced in these situations.
Racism
The arrival of refugees and, latterly, large numbers of migrant workers over the last decade or so has undoubtedly shifted attitudes in the Republic towards those from other cultures and had a significant effect upon the population’s long-standing homogeneity. That being said, it’s still possible that black visitors will encounter racist attitudes at some point in their travels, especially in rural areas, but these are generally not threatening and usually the result of ignorance rather than intended to cause deliberate offence.
The situation is less optimistic in Northern Ireland where, especially in Belfast, Loyalist gangs have attempted to “cleanse” the city’s ethnic population, targeting mainly the Chinese and other Asian communities, and there have been several reported attacks on migrant workers across the region. Tourists, of whatever culture, are very rarely the victims of assaults.
Ireland also has its own recognized ethnic minority, the Travellers (widely known by a range of insulting epithets), against whom discrimination remains widespread, both North and South.
Gays and lesbians
Attitudes to gays and lesbians remain discriminatory amongst the general population (especially Northern Irish Protestants), and the gay community in Ireland keeps a low profile, the only “scene” largely concentrated on the nightlife of Belfast and Dublin. That said, in 2015 – 22 years after homosexuality was decriminalized in the Republic – a public referendum saw 62% of the Republic’s population vote in favour of the legalisation of gay marriage, with the law subsequently changed to reflect popular opinion. Away from the larger cities, however, public displays of affection may produce hostile verbal reactions, and many small-town and rural B&Bs will look askance at a pair of men wanting to share a bed for the night. Be aware that known cruising areas, such as Belfast’s Cave Hill and Dublin’s Phoenix Park, are often patrolled by the police.
Alcohol
The pub has long been at the centre of Irish society and the ready availability of alcohol has played a major part in the development of the national psyche and as a Muse to some of the country’s greatest writers (O’Brien, Kavanagh, Behan) and actors (Richard Harris and Peter O’Toole).
The Irish are amongst Europe’s heaviest drinkers, imbibing as a whole on average some twenty percent more than their continental European neighbours, and that’s despite the government’s heavy excise duties on drink. According to Alcohol Action Ireland, more than half of the population have harmful drinking patterns (40 percent of women and 70 percent of men) and binge-drinking, especially amongst the 18–25 age group, is a significant problem. Contrastingly, thanks to movements such as the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, around a fifth of the Irish population are teetotal.
However, consumption is gradually falling. Partly this reflects Ireland’s economic woes, which, in conjunction with the smoking ban and drink-driving legislation, have seen some 1500 licensed premises close in the last five years. The majority of these have been in rural areas, especially in the southwest, but towns and cities have suffered too.
Public holidays
Holiday
Republic
N Ireland
New Year’s Day
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St Patrick’s Day – March 17
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Good Friday
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Easter Monday
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May – first Mon
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May – last Mon
×
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June – first Mon
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×
Orange Day – July 12
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Aug – first Mon
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×
Aug – last Mon
×
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Oct – last Mon
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×
Christmas Day
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St.Stephen’s Day/Boxing Day – Dec 26
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