• 'th' does not exist here. There is only 't'. Occasionally there is a separate 'h', but it is actually several letters-- 'haych'.
• Cabs from Temple Bar cost more-- walk out of Temple Bar before getting one. In fact, don't go to Temple Bar if you don't want to pay more for everything-- good for a walk through, not good for a pub crawl.
  
• Just because the police ('Garda') don't carry guns doesn't mean they won't beat the shit out of you, or use horses.
• Irish men use the term 'woman' a lot. It's not (usually) insulting.
• One of my favorite things about Ireland is the use of the phrase "you're (very) welcome", or "you're (very) welcome here".
  
• Don't expect maps to be drawn to scale. For the most part, they're not. Ireland's kind of small (roughly the same population as South Carolina, for those of you playing along at home).
• Palm trees are everywhere. Try not to act surprised-- people bring them home from their trips to Spain or Portugal. If you try to point out that most places with palm trees (Miami, California, Jamacia, Spain, Portugal) all have something in common that Ireland doesn't so much have (sun, warmth), especially considering the fact that Dublin is roughly the same longitude as Moscow (!), the Irish will look at you a bit confused and say something to the tune of "yeah? So?". I assume it's the trade off for the lack of poison ivy.
• Tipping is pretty much on a case by case basis. With cabbies, round up. With waitresses, stick with 10- 20% unless it's already been taken into account. With bar tenders, your discretion.
  
• Farmers Markets are the way to go for produce- look off of Henry Street, or the Temple Bar Market (Saturday, Wednesday from 11-5) (has organic), or take a trip to Howth (Sundays, also with organic stands). For tofu and such, look to Indian/Middle Eastern shops.
  

Labels: dublin, europe, list, things to know about Ireland