Safety in Ireland

Overall: Ireland is one of the safest countries in Europe for independent travel. Visitors are treated well, and locals will stop what they are doing to give you directions.
Pickpockets: In Dublin stay alert on O'Connell Street and in the crush of Temple Bar. Dense crowds and drunk groups are exactly the conditions petty street thieves work in.
Driving: The real hazard is left-hand traffic combined with very narrow country roads. Do not rush blind corners, because sheep and cattle wander onto the tarmac regularly.
Weather: Heavy rain can arrive out of an entirely clear sky. On the sea cliffs the gusts are genuinely life-threatening, so never step past the barriers for a photograph.
Bikes: If you hire a bicycle, always lock it to something fixed with a serious lock. Bike theft is common in the bigger Irish cities.
At night: Central Dublin is well lit and regularly patrolled. Loud groups after closing time are usually harmless, but there is nothing to gain from arguing with them.
Getting help: Dial 112 for police, ambulance or mountain rescue. Coverage generally works even in the hills, which matters if you lose the marked trail on a hike.

Ireland is calm and welcoming with low violent crime. A tourist's problems here are mundane.

Pickpockets in Dublin. Grafton Street, Temple Bar in the evening, and the airport buses. The peak is weekend nights when the centre fills up.

Car break-ins. A well-known Irish affliction: hire cars are broken into at car parks by the sights — the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, the national parks. Nothing should be left inside, not even an empty bag.

Bicycles. Stolen in large numbers in Dublin. You need a serious lock.

Car hire is Ireland's main financial trap. The online price almost never includes compulsory CDW insurance, and the excess reaches several thousand euros. A particular quirk: many Irish rental firms do not accept your card's cover as a substitute and require you either to buy their insurance or to have a large deposit blocked. Confirm the terms before booking, or the price at the counter will double.

Pubs. No deception, but the bill grows unnoticed: rounds are bought in turn and declining feels awkward.

Driving on the left, plus narrow rural roads with stone walls right at the edge. This is the main cause of incidents involving tourists, with wing mirrors and wheels suffering first.

Drink-driving. The limit is 0.5 per mille, and 0.2 for new drivers. Enforcement is dense and penalties are strict.

Drinking in public is prohibited in most urban areas.

Drugs. The law is strict and cannabis is illegal.

Drones. Registration is compulsory from 250 grams, and flights over people and in controlled airspace are prohibited.

Smoking. Ireland was the first country in the world to ban smoking in pubs, and the rule is observed absolutely.

The Cliffs of Moher and the coast. Do not go beyond the barriers: the cliffs are undercut from below, the edge can collapse, and the Atlantic wind knocks people over. People have died there.

Documents. Carry a passport copy. Ireland is outside Schengen and shares a Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom.

Vaccinations. None.

Water. Tap water is drinkable, though some areas periodically issue boil water notices because of the state of the network. Local news and hotels announce these.

Healthcare. The public system is overstretched, and a wait in the emergency department can run to many hours. For non-EU citizens treatment is chargeable: an A&E visit costs from a hundred euros and admission far more. Insurance is essential.

Pharmacies. Open late, with the pharmacist available for advice. Many medicines require a prescription.

Weather. Rain and wind all year; four seasons in a day is a local saying rather than an exaggeration. A genuinely waterproof jacket is more use than an umbrella, which will simply invert.

The coast. Atlantic waves and currents are strong and lifeguards are few. Swimming is mostly done on patrolled flagged beaches.

Ticks. Lyme disease occurs in woodland and on bogland.

Emergency numbers: 112 and 999 work identically.

Ireland ranks in the upper part of the Corruption Perceptions Index. Bribes are not taken.

The Gardaí. The Irish police are An Garda Síochána, and ordinary patrols are unarmed. Attitudes to tourists are friendly and English is, of course, the native language.

Numbers. 112 and 999 are both emergency numbers and equivalent.

Reporting theft. Your insurer needs a report from a Garda station. These are taken without difficulty, but online filing is not available for most cases — you will have to call in person.

Dublin at night. The centre at weekends is loud and drunk but not dangerous. Keep away from groups around Temple Bar after the pubs close, and do not cut through the quays and lanes on the north side of the centre.

Traffic police. Alcohol checkpoints are regular, especially at weekends and on rural roads. There are fewer cameras than in continental Europe, but enforcement exists.

What actually matters. The main losses in Ireland involve car hire, narrow roads and weather rather than crime.