I am going to Ireland in June to visit my parents. They have a telephone line but no internet. I will be spending a good bit of time with them and would like internet access. I know I could go to an internet cafe but I was wondering if there is something I can buy so I would have the internet in their house? I am happy to have it just to my mobile or to an ipad. Any thoughts? I know so little about all this.

Just buy a dongle when you get there. You can get a pay as you go one from most mobile phone shops, and some supermarkets like Tesco's.

Or forget all about it by doing what you all do best in Ireland and get rat arsed the whole time.

Yup, a dongle is the way to go.

A dongle in Dingle maybe?

You can see why I don't post much these days ...

nor me

Check out who has the best coverage and then either get a dongle if you have a laptop, or get a PAYG sim for the iphone and/or ipad. I got an O2 sim for my ipad when I went home last, very easy to switch over then just put the Aussie one in when you come back. However, I would recommend getting the shop to insert it and set it up as they know all the bts to change to get it to work!!!

Thank you all.....I didn't realize it would be so easy!

I'd probably look at Three Ireland. They seem to have wide coverage, but they also have Three's international roaming ('like Home') and all you can eat data. Even a few spots of 4G.

It's Ireland,NOT Queensland

I have a Pocket Wifi which is more convenient than a Dongle. I can hang it up in the window to receive a good signal, the Wifi part will then connect 100% to the laptop which can be well inside the house. The only disadvantage is that the Pocket Wifi has an LI battery which lasts about three hours, I usually plug it into a USB type power adaptor to keep it fully charged. I also carry it in a small cotton bag along with a few clothes-pegs, when in hotels I can hang it up on the curtains wherever the signal is strongest. My Wifi connects at 7.8 MBPS which I find adequate but if you want more there are now 4G versions available which I think run at about 24 MBPS but cost heaps more in connection fees. One caution though, most services on mainland UK block Skype and any other VOIP. One shop insisted they didn't block it, rather they didn't support it, I replied to the shop assistant that I'm an MCSE so we both know that you are lying (3G is supposed to support VOIP).

I ended up with Tesco but had difficulty registering the Pocket Wifi, it worked fine but I could not recharge the connection fee online, went back to Tesco and they sorted the registration for me; might have been because I was trying to use an Australian Debit Card. I've used the same SIM on several UK trips. For voice calls we had a card that the foreign exchange people had given us with AUD$10 credit which was enough for us.

If your iPad has 3G you can buy a card costing £20 for 3 months with the Three company.

note if you get a pay as you go sim to put in your phone when in Ireland make sure your phone is unlocked before you go.

Not going anywhere near Castletownbere in Co. Cork I suppose?