Irish Road Signs

When Ireland joined the EU it was a backward country. The economy was mainly based on tourism and the roads were poor.

Particularly bad were the signs.

Without a map, it was a bit of a root finding your way back to your B&B, which wasn't really much of a problem because all of Ireland is just about as beautiful as a place can be.

However, it made driving anywhere in particular a chore.

In the 1980's and 90's Euros began to flow into Ireland from more prosperous countries and the Irish made good use of these funds.

They instituted a state-wide scheme to create one of the best infrastructures in Europe and began building and repairing the national highways and local roads.

Today the roads are some of the best in the world and road signs are as prevalent as spam in your inbox.

If anything, signs are too prevalent. Care is taken to make them as pleasant as possible but sometimes it looks like a Chinese fire drill is in full progress.

The good news is the signs are accurate and are many times in both Kilometers and Miles. They might even teach you a bit of Irish.

Although much of the world is destination intense when going on holiday, in Ireland it is often better to hop into the car in the morning with your luggage, point your vehicle in the general direction you want to go and drive until you find a village or town you like.

Once there, you can pop into the local pub and ask about lodging or just drop into one of the many thousands of B&B's dotting the Irish countryside.

It's almost impossible to get lost in Ireland because even the tiny lanes have signs and it will be difficult to find a B&B owner who isn't nice.

We also suggest reviewing the driving rules before going to Ireland.

Not mentioned on this page is the term, "traffic calming." Isn't that a nice way to say "Slow down there are  speed bumps ahead."

Another tip we offer is to please obey the speed limit in Ireland. There's no reason to rush, lads, and the Guardai has a way of appearing out of nowhere.

Have a grand visit and let us be the first to say "Failte" to you.