Communications information is divided into:

• National Postal Service
• International Couriers
• Land Telephony
• Callcards
• Mobile Telephony
• Telegrams

Additional information is available on

• Internet services, standards
• Newspapers

National Post Service - An Post
The national postal system is run by the state-owned body An Post (from the Irish, pronounced On Pust). Up-to-date service details and costs are available on the An Post website (www.anpost.ie). Post offices are usually open 9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, and 9am-1pm Sat. Some close for lunch but the larger post offices, such as South Anne Street, off Grafton Street and Andrew Street (grid O50, O49 on map l49o51) don't close for lunch. Post boxes are green in colour and often have two slits, one for post to be sent to Dublin only and one for any other place.

As in other countries, Post Office are increasingly diversifying to offer financial and other services such as bill paying for utilities. They also offer National Lottery services for prizes of upwards of €1M in televised draws on wednesdays and saturdays.

International Independent Mail Services
Ireland is also served by the global systems operated by Federal Express (Fedex), United Parcel Service (UPS) and DHL.

Telephones - Landlines & Callcards
The international country code for Ireland is +353
The national area code for Dublin is (0)1 or from abroad, +3531

There are a number of players in the Irish telephony marketplace since deregulation a number of years ago. The landline market is dominated by the former state owned and now privatised eircom.

Callcards are a popular choice for making international calls while in Ireland. We recommend Swiftcall for the best value in callcards, and electronic PIN numbers can be purchased online for convenience.

International dialing codes: External access code is 00 followed by the appropriate country code. Some of the commonly used international codes are as follows; Australia +61; Belgium +32; France +33; Germany +49; Great Britain +44; Greece +30; Italy +39; Japan +81; Netherlands +31; Norway +47; Spain +34; Sweden +46; Switzerland +41; USA +1.

Directory Enquiries: dial 11811
Operator assistance: Dial 10 for call assistance within Ireland and the UK, and 114 for international assistance. Alarm calls are available from the operator and you can also avail of reverse charge calls.

Most public phones take phonecards (available in most shops) and credit cards. The national dialing code for Dublin is 01 (used when phoning Dublin from outside of Dublin itself). 1800 numbers are free. Local phone numbers consist of 7 digits but outside of Dublin they might be shorter.

Telephones - Mobiles (Cellphones)
The mobile network in Ireland is quite advanced and keeps pace with the EU network as a whole. The industry is in quite a state of flux with much consolidation. Major carriers include Vodafone (www.vodafone.ie), O2 (www.o2.ie) and Meteor (www.meteor.ie). All offer full GSM services and GPRS services as well as standard EU roaming services for visitors.

Telegrams
Also now known as telemessages. Call 196 for full details. Messages can also be sent from post offices during opening hours for just over €4 for a 12-word telemessage to the UK.