How far from Dublin are you willing to go?

I was fine driving on the "wrong" side of the road in Ireland, because most of the time there is no side of the road. It's one lane, and a narrow one at that. It really doesn't matter which side you ditch to. The biggest challenge I've had in wrong-side driving is remembering which way to look and which way to go around the roundabouts.

As for stick, I have been driving stick for 20+ years, so found that not an issue. As a newbie it could be more challenging. You tend to do a lot more shifting than one might in the US because the engines on cars are small and the roads require a lot of changes in speed (it's not all motorways), so one shifts down approaching a small hill, and then up, and then down to avoid a sheep, and then reverse because the road doesn't have room for you and the motorscooter coming the other way.

An added challenge is the signage--it's in English (and Gaelic), but was apparently put up so as to confuse any English-speaking invaders and send them in the wrong direction. It's a far better defense than the right-hand drive thing. Anyway, if you're driving in Dublin, try to get out quickly. And if you don't want to get out quickly, stick with taxis.

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Tanning Machine I: 1989 325iC (Salmon Silver/Black, Heated Seats, LSD). 7/26/1989-11/1/2003.
Tanning Machine II: 2004 330Cic (Silver Gray/Natural Brown, SP, PP, Heated Seats, Xenons). 8/29/2003-present.