Top 5 tips to live in Ireland

I certainly agree with you sara, to a point, and it depends on what you are coming for. if you mean a holiday, people are generally very friendly and helpful, but when its for long term stay and a job it can be a different story altogether. Most expats are the ones who open their doors to expats, I am 13 years living and working in this country and I have only been invited  to an irish home for a meal once. Most of the time we are the ones inviting people for meals or get-togethers. Irish people would click together/invite you to the pub yes, but most expats may not necessarily be into the pub life. They socialise around pubs, I still don't hang out in pubs and I am well use to not being invited to anybodies homes. I enjoy entertaining and my door is always open to anyone. thats how I was raised and thats in my culture. I organized a christmas meal for 2 other colleages who were in ireland on their own because they did not know how lonely a place it is if nobody invites you in.  If you spent your first christmas in this country you will know what i am talking about. My husband and I are both expats and we love ireland and would not move from here but it took us a few years to realise the good and the bad. Irish people are not as open to people as you might think, catholic and non-catholic alike, I am a catholic and I am a regular mass goer so i would not say these things if I did not experience it first hand.