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Allied Irish Bank (AIB), the Bank of Ireland, the Ulster Bank, the National Irish Bank, and the TSB are the five retail banks in the Republic. They are open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. ATMs (cash-points) are located outside most banks in the city, and are the fastest and cheapest way to get local currency, drawing money directly from your account, if you belong to a co-operating bank. All UK cashcards can be used at these machines.

Ireland joined the European Monetary Union in 1999, with 11 other EU countries, and the euro has been the sole legal tender since early 2002. Coin denominations are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, while notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros. There are 100 cents to 1 euro.

Visa and MasterCard are the most widely accepted cards; American Express and Diners Club less so. You can withdraw cash from ATMs using credit cards. Travellers’ cheques are still the safest way to carry money but the rise of ATMs is fast supplanting the need for them.

For all foreign currencies outside of the EMU, the banks offer the best rates of exchange. Bureaux de change rates vary but they are likely to be better than hotel rates if the banks are closed. Some department stores offer exchange facilities.

Most post offices open from 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm, 2:15pm to 5pm on Saturdays. The General Post Office in O’Connell Street (see General Post Office) is open all day, seven days a week, but stamps can also be purchased from some newsagents and shops. Post boxes in Ireland are green. The easiest way to receive mail in Dublin is to have it sent to your hotel but a poste restante service is also available from major post offices.

The majority of phone booths are controlled by Telecom Eireann (Eircom). Public pay-phones are easy to find and the wording around the top of each booth indicates whether it takes coins, phonecards or credit cards – most in Dublin are now card-operated. The cheapest time to make calls is after 6pm and at weekends. Calls made from hotels can be expensive.

Pre-paid phonecards, available in several denominations, are useful for long distance calls. These, as well as card-credits for mobile phones, can be bought at newsagents, post offices, supermarkets and other retail outlets.

You can find an Internet café in most areas of Dublin and some hotels also offer Internet facilities. Failing that, try the nearest public library or post office.

The Republic of Ireland has six national daily papers and five Sunday papers. Quality dailies include the Irish Times , the Irish Independent and the Examiner . Ireland’s daily tabloid is the Star and the evening paper is the Evening Herald . All British papers are on sale throughout Dublin and larger newsagents stock international newspapers.

Ireland has four television channels: RTE 1, Network 2, TV3 and TG4. There are six national radio stations including an Irish language service, and many local ones. The five British channels can be picked up through cable and satellite connections.