Why might you think twice about visiting the Emerald Isle? From the high costs to complex visa processes and shit weather, we have laid it out for you here.

Inspired by the conversation sparked by this thread, let’s get into it: here’s everything to convince you NOT to visit Ireland.

Cost exclusion

Don’t be fooled, Ireland is f**king expensive. We are heavily dependent on imports, which of course, the consumer pays for. Our indirect taxes (VAT) make the average person Ireland feel robbed for wanting to blow off steam. It’s the fourth most expensive in the European Union (EU) for food related spend and top of the list for alcohol and cigarettes. This is despite the GDP per capita exceeding 100k USD (as of Dec 2024).

To put it bluntly, it’s practically a money laundering state, inflating national GDP without actually producing a lot of the goods or services that are (not) getting taxed here. There are economic benefits to this, they just feel very far away to the average person living in Ireland.

Couple that with the housing crisis and you have a total sh*t show. Not to mention, the average occupancy rate of hotels in Dublin averages over 80% as well. Absolutely nuts.

Immigration and visa requirements

Honestly, you’d assumed we were fairly lax on visas. A quick AI prompt tells me that worldwide, Ireland is favourable in terms of global visa freedom. But of course, compounded with other factors it’s not all sunshine, rainbows and pots of gold.

For visa-exempt countries, of which a list exists here, it is straightforward.

For nationalities that cannot enjoy a visa exemption, it’s a little more complicated.

You’ll need: a valid passport; an official invitation from the event organisers that details the event, your participation, and the dates involved; proof of accommodation; proof of sufficient funds; travel insurance; a completed visa application form with proof of payment; biometrics submission; and possibly an interview.

Its a bit risky to use a tourist visa to attend a hackathon and conference, but we certainly envisage our event as more of a tech festival. Technically speaking though, I’m not sure the Irish immigration would agree so do your own research and make a decision that feels right for you.

Alternatively and depending on where you’re coming from you may be able to more easily enter via the United Kingdom, specifically Belfast, to take advantage of the Common Travel Area. I hear that’s common these days.

In any case, you can find all the information you need to know if you require a visa to enter Ireland or not at this website.

Infrastructure

It’s frustrating to see this regression in Irish rail because if we had something remotely like this today, the country would probably not experience a lot of the traffic related frustration that’s rife in the cities. It may not be obvious on the map above, but the vast majority of rail infrastructure is concentrated in our capital, with the Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART) system. It’s been affectionately nicknamed ‘dirt’ by it’s passengers.

Our humble little island also seems to suffer from an outdated overconfidence in private vehicles for transport, particularly because the country (although it looks relatively small) needs to connect over 5 million people. This is quite hard to do on an island of this size. The infamously crappy roads are also an imprint of the famine, which saw our signature, winding ‘roads to nowhere’ built all over the country.

Honourable mention: the weather

This one you may already be aware of. Rain is always on the cards, especially in the West. The driest months tend to be April through to July, averaging 80mm per month.

It would be snow only for The Gulf Stream keeping us ‘warm’.

To be fair, it is good craic.

Anywhere you go, there seems to be a contingent of Irish people. And for the most part, Irish people seem to be held in fairly high regard.

Our warm and friendly nature is touted, so why not come experience it for yourself?

If you do, here is a list of things to do around Dublin:

• EPIC Museum — excellent stop if you want to learn about historical Irish emigration and it’s in the same venue as our event. We can usually supply a limited amount of tickets for FREE.

• Live music — this is totally dependent on the night of the week, but we make sure to bring our traditional music to YOU during the event. Still, if we are sending you somewhere it better be good! Our favourite one is The Celt, not too far away from Dogpatch Labs.

• Walking tours — these are regular and tend to be either free or very reasonably priced. Great for getting the few tourist stops in while learning about Dublin.

• The Craic Den Comedy Club — shows are 7 nights a week in the famous Temple Bar area, can’t go wrong if you’re stuck for something to do.

• Football or Hurling — these Gaelic sports are uniquely Irish and may have influenced other sports, having existed thousands of years before soccer, rugby or hockey. If you have never felt the electricity of an Irish national sport in person, you can find the fixtures for 2025 here.

• Great Guinness — you’ll get the best in Dublin for sure. Do not expect the best one to be in the brewery though. For that you’ll have to go to Mulligan’s on Poolbeg Street or the Lord Edward in Christchurch.

• Jameson Distillery Tour — Irish whiskey is famous for many reasons, all to be discovered on Bow Street. You can enjoy either a whiskey tasting tour or a cocktail making class.

You could fit all of the above in during a short stay, easily. We’ll even help you plan it.

And if you care to make it further afield while you’re here, here’s a taste of the regional culture to help you decide:

• Ulster in the North (Belfast) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_khk7qxm3E

• Connacht in the West (Galway/Mayo) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRmdO0V5Lrc

• Munster in the South (Cork) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZR8XqNX4LY

Leave your mark

Dublin is the EMEA hub for most tech companies and with MiCA pending implementation, things are shaping up nicely for web3 organisations that want to drop an anchor in the only English speaking capital city in Europe.

While MiCA might not excite the more decentralised organisations, the web3 ecosystem is still finding it’s feet so there are plenty of opportunities to make an impact.

It’s unlikely that Dublin will win out as a host location for Devcon, especially up against the assertive bunch of Argentinians campaigning for Buenos Aires to be the next destination.

Perhaps, it might be better suited as one of the next homes for Devconnect. Possibly in 2026?

At the end of the day, in spite of the high hurdles to getting there, Ireland is kind of a bucket list thing to tick off (but we’ll let you be the judge!).