Hal

Why is everyone jumping on Jeff for just giving his opinion - one that I would have to agree with. If you want a quiet relaxing vacation, I suppose that Ireland would fit the bill. But I think far too many people are being lured in with the impression that it is more than it really is. Yes, it's greem, nice people and better tasting Guinness, but that doesn't add up to the most exciting vacation destination. Let Jeff just point out to some readers that they need to question if the place suits their needs.

Edmond O`Flaherty

A recent newpaper survey in Ireland showed that 75% of American visitors would be interested in visiting Ireland again while 90% of Germans would like to do so. <BR> <BR>Some Americans actually emigrate to Ireland-about 5000 per year.I met two of them recently.One was a retired English Professor from the south who lives in Ireland because of its literary heritage-writers like Yeats,Shaw,Wilde,Heaney,Swift.She also likes the free travel she gets on practically all buses and trains because she is a resident and over 66.At 70 she will get free medical care in hospital and from her family doctor(including house calls if necessary) including free prescription drugs.At present the maximum cost of prescribed drugs is capped at $50 per family per month. <BR>The other Amercican resident is a software engineer who likes time off and everybody in |Ireland is entitled to 4 weeks holidays by law.He travels all over Europe on vacation but likes to live in an English-speaking country.