1 GB
Valid for 7 days
$4.99
$4.99 per GB
eSIM for Ireland
Ireland runs on your phone more than most of Europe. Dublin Bus fares are cheapest on a Leap Card you top up in an app, Irish Rail tickets live as QR codes, Free Now is how you get a taxi at 1am on Dame Street, and the B&B in Doolin confirms your room by WhatsApp. Then you drive west, and the value of data changes: narrow lanes, hand-painted signs, and a Google Maps route that only makes sense if it loaded before you left the car park.
A FairSIM eSIM connects to Three, Eir or Vodafone, the three networks that cover the Republic. All three run 5G in the cities and larger towns, with 4G doing the work everywhere else. Coverage along the Wild Atlantic Way is better than its reputation but it is not complete: parts of Connemara, the Beara and Iveragh peninsulas, the Sperrin-side border roads and the mountain passes drop to a single bar or nothing at all. That is geography, not the plan.
One rule catches people out every week. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, so an Ireland plan stops working the moment you cross to Newry, Belfast or Derry, and there is no border check to warn you. If your trip includes both, buy a UK plan as well or take the Europe regional plan, which covers the island in one go. Install before you fly, because Irish arrivals halls no longer have a reliable SIM counter.
Ireland eSIM plans
Wholesale rates in US dollars, with nothing added at checkout. Buy in the FairSIM app and the plan is on your phone in seconds.
How long is your trip?
All plans. Pick a trip length to narrow the list.
- Get it in the app for Ireland
5 GB
Valid for 30 days
Get it in the app for Ireland$9.99
$2.00 per GB
- Best value
10 GB
Valid for 30 days
Get it in the app for Ireland$18.99
$1.90 per GB
Unlimited
Valid for 15 days
Get it in the app for Ireland$33.99
Speed policy shown in the app
Coverage in Ireland
- 4G LTE
- 5G
- ThreeThe largest mobile network in Ireland since it absorbed O2 Ireland, with 5G across Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and most large towns, and a wide 4G footprint on the west coast.
- EirListed in the coverage sheet under its Meteor Mobile licence. 5G in the cities and many regional towns, with solid 4G through the midlands and the southwest.
- Vodafone5G in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and a long list of towns, plus dependable 4G along the main motorway corridors.
- ThreeThe same Three Ireland network, listed a second time in the sheet under its Hutchison 3G Ireland entity. It is one network, not a fourth operator.
Typical speed: City 5G is fast enough for video calls and hotspot work. Speeds drop to ordinary 4G once you leave the motorway network, and to nothing in some coastal and mountain pockets.
Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Belfast-bound motorways and the main rail lines are well covered. Expect gaps in Connemara, the Beara, Iveragh and Dingle peninsulas, the Wicklow and Kerry mountain roads, and on ferries to the Aran Islands.
How much data do you need in Ireland?
It depends on how you travel. Find your trip below, then pick the plan that matches. You can always top up in the app.
Dublin city break
Three or four nights of museums, music and Georgian streets.
Why data matters: Leap Top-Up and TFI Live for buses and the Luas, Free Now for late taxis, restaurant bookings, and maps between the Liberties and the docklands.
- 7 days
- 5 GB
- 14 days
- 10 GB
- 30 days
- 20 GB
Wild Atlantic Way road trip
Hire car from Shannon or Galway down to Kerry and Cork.
Why data matters: Navigation on unsignposted lanes, fuel and toll checks, B&B messages, and photo uploads once you are back in a town. Download offline maps for the peninsulas.
- 7 days
- 10 GB
- 14 days
- 20 GB
- 30 days
- Unlimited
Ireland plus Northern Ireland
Dublin, Belfast and the Causeway Coast in one loop.
Why data matters: An Ireland plan covers the Republic only. Add a UK plan or take the Europe regional plan so data keeps working past Newry.
- 7 days
- 10 GB
- 14 days
- 20 GB
- 30 days
- Unlimited
Family roots and small-town visits
Parish records, graveyards and cousins in Mayo, Clare or Tipperary.
Why data matters: Church and archive lookups, long video calls home, and rural addresses that only exist as Eircodes in a maps app.
- 7 days
- 5 GB
- 14 days
- 10 GB
- 30 days
- 20 GB
Remote work from Galway or Cork
A month in a coastal town with Monday to Friday still attached.
Why data matters: Zoom and Teams, Personal Hotspot when the café Wi-Fi sags, and a backup line for the days the fixed connection drops.
- 7 days
- 20 GB
- 14 days
- Unlimited
- 30 days
- Unlimited
What your home carrier charges in Ireland
Daily roaming passes look small until you multiply them by the length of the trip. FairSIM plans for Ireland start at $4.99 and never bill per day.
EU and most UK plans treat Ireland kindly. US and Australian carriers do not.
| Carrier | Roaming charge | FairSIM |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T International Day Pass (US) | $12 per day per line, $6 for each extra line | from $4.99, no daily fee |
| Verizon TravelPass (US) | $12 per day, high-speed data then slowed | from $4.99, no daily fee |
| EE (UK) | The Republic of Ireland is normally included in EE's inclusive roaming, with no daily pass. Check your own plan before you travel | from $4.99, no daily fee |
| Vodafone UK | Ireland sits in Vodafone UK's European zone, included on many plans or about £2.42 per day on newer ones | from $4.99, no daily fee |
| Orange or Telekom (EU) | Roam-like-at-home: your domestic allowance at no extra daily charge, subject to fair-use limits | from $4.99, no daily fee |
| Telstra International Day Pass (Australia) | A$10 per day for 2 GB | from $4.99, no daily fee |
Carrier prices as published on their roaming pages at the time of writing. They change often; check your own plan before you fly.
How FairSIM works
- 1
Pick a destination and a plan
Choose the country or region and the data you need. The price you see is the price you pay.
- 2
Tap install
On iPhone (iOS 17.4+) the eSIM installs in one tap, no QR code. Do it at home while you still have Wi-Fi.
- 3
Land and connect
Turn on data roaming for the FairSIM line when you arrive. Your plan starts when it first connects.
Connectivity tips for Ireland
Buy a UK plan or the Europe regional plan if you are crossing into Northern Ireland. There is no border post to remind you, just a change in road signs from km/h to mph.
Install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi and turn the line on after landing. Validity usually starts at the first connection to an Irish network.
Download offline maps for Connemara, the Beara, Iveragh and Dingle peninsulas before you drive them. Signal drops in the valleys and on the coast roads.
Get a Leap Card or use TFI Go for Dublin buses, the Luas and the DART. Cash fares are higher and Dublin Bus gives no change.
Learn the Eircode for every place you are staying. It is the fastest way to get a rental car or a taxi to a rural address.
Rain arrives sideways. Keep the phone in a pocket or a dry bag on cliff walks and check Met Éireann warnings before booking a ferry to the Aran Islands or Skellig.
Keep your home SIM active for bank one-time codes, with its own data roaming switched off so it cannot bill you.
112 and 999 both reach emergency services and work even without a usable data plan. On the coast, ask for the Coast Guard.
Apps you will actually use
- Free Now the main taxi app in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, dispatching licensed metered taxis.
- Uber works in Dublin, but it books the same licensed taxis rather than private drivers, so fares match the meter.
- TFI Live and Leap Top-Up real-time bus, Luas and DART times, and NFC top-ups of a Leap Card straight from your phone.
- Irish Rail intercity tickets to Galway, Cork, Belfast and Killarney, with seat reservations and live departures.
- Met Éireann the national forecast and weather warnings, which matter for ferries, cliff walks and driving days.
- Google Maps reliable nationwide and it understands Eircodes; download the west coast offline before you drive it.
- Revolut used by a huge share of people in Ireland for splitting bills and paying friends; handy if someone asks you to "Revolut it".
- WhatsApp how B&Bs, tour guides and boat operators actually reply. Calls and messages work normally in Ireland.
Dublin Bus takes Leap Card or exact coins and gives no change in cash, so a Leap Card or the TFI Go app saves money and hassle. Rural addresses are often just a townland name; the seven-character Eircode is the only thing that puts a car on the right driveway.
Can you rely on free Wi-Fi?
Free Wi-Fi is genuinely common in Ireland: Dublin Airport, hotels, pubs, cafés, libraries and most visitor centres. Quality is a different question. Pub Wi-Fi on a busy night is close to useless, Irish Rail's onboard Wi-Fi is patchy and often drops for long stretches between Dublin and Galway or Cork, and rural guesthouses sometimes share one slow line across every room. Treat Wi-Fi as a bonus for big downloads and keep your own data for maps, tickets and calls.
Local SIM card or eSIM in Ireland?
Three, Vodafone, Eir, GoMo and Tesco Mobile all sell prepay SIMs in Ireland, usually around €20 for a month of calls, texts and a large or unlimited data bundle. You buy them in phone shops on Grafton Street, Patrick Street or Shop Street, and in some supermarkets and Spar branches. Dublin Airport no longer has a dependable staffed SIM counter in arrivals, so plan on a city-centre shop rather than a booth after baggage claim. Setting up top-ups often wants a card and sometimes an Irish address, which is friction on a four-night trip.
A FairSIM eSIM avoids all of that. You install it over Wi-Fi at home, land, switch the line on, and you are roaming on Three, Eir or Vodafone with no shop, no queue and no paperwork. A local SIM still wins if you need an Irish number for a landlord, a bank or a delivery driver, or if you are staying for months. For a week or two of maps, tickets and messaging, the eSIM is simpler and you keep your home number live for bank codes.
Good to know before you land in Ireland
- Currency
- Euro (EUR). Northern Ireland uses pounds sterling
- Plug type
- Type G (UK three-pin)
- Voltage
- 230 V, 50 Hz
- Emergency number
- 112 or 999, both free and both work
- Language
- English and Irish (Gaeilge); Irish is the daily language in Gaeltacht areas of Donegal, Galway, Mayo and Kerry
- Time zone
- UTC+0 in winter, UTC+1 (Irish Standard Time) from late March to late October
- Capital
- Dublin
Ireland eSIM questions
Does eSIM work in Ireland?
Yes. Any unlocked eSIM phone connects to Three, Eir or Vodafone with a travel eSIM. On iPhone that means XS, XR or newer; most recent Pixel, Samsung Galaxy S and Motorola models support it too.
Which network will my Ireland eSIM use?
Three, Eir or Vodafone, depending on the plan and where you are standing. Your phone picks the strongest signal automatically. The app shows the network for each plan.
Is there 5G in Ireland?
Yes, on all three networks, in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and most larger towns. Outside those, you get 4G, which handles maps, tickets and video calls fine.
Does an Ireland eSIM work in Northern Ireland?
No. Belfast, Derry and the Causeway Coast are in the United Kingdom and need a UK plan or the Europe regional plan. An Ireland-only plan stops working when you cross.
Will I have signal on the Wild Atlantic Way?
Mostly yes on the main routes and in towns, but not everywhere. Expect dead spots on the Kerry and West Cork peninsulas, in Connemara and on mountain passes. Download offline maps before you drive.
Can I use Personal Hotspot in Ireland?
Yes. Every FairSIM plan supports Personal Hotspot with no separate cap, which is useful when the guesthouse Wi-Fi is shared across ten rooms.
Can I get an Irish phone number with the eSIM?
No. A FairSIM plan is data only. Keep your home number on your usual SIM for calls and SMS codes, and use WhatsApp, FaceTime or Zoom over the eSIM data.
How much data do I need for a week in Ireland?
A Dublin city break runs about 5 GB a week. A driving trip with constant navigation and photo uploads is closer to 10 GB. Streaming or working pushes it higher.
Local SIM or eSIM for Ireland?
A prepay SIM costs around €20 a month and gives you an Irish number, but you have to find a shop and often a card and address to set up top-ups. A travel eSIM installs before you fly, roams on the same Three, Eir and Vodafone towers, and keeps your home number live.
What is an eSIM?
A SIM card built into your phone. Instead of a plastic chip, you download a profile. Every iPhone since the XS has one next to the physical SIM slot, so your home number stays put while FairSIM supplies the data.
Is my phone compatible?
FairSIM works with eSIM-compatible, carrier-unlocked iPhones: the XS, XR and everything newer, on iOS 17.4 or later for the one-tap install with no QR code. iPhones bought in mainland China do not support eSIM at all, even when unlocked. Not sure yours is unlocked? Check Settings, General, About, Carrier Lock, or ask your carrier. The full list is on the How it works page.
When should I install my eSIM?
Before you travel, while you still have Wi-Fi. Installing does not start your plan; the validity typically starts when the eSIM first connects to a network at your destination.
Do FairSIM eSIMs come with a phone number?
No. FairSIM eSIMs are data-only by design, which keeps costs low. For calls and texts, your physical SIM stays active so you keep your existing number, and WhatsApp, FaceTime and iMessage work over data.
Traveling beyond Ireland?
Get your Ireland eSIM in the app
Plans from $4.99. Install before you fly, track your data live, and top up in seconds if you need more.
Download on theApp Store
iPhone XS or later · iOS 17.4+ for one-tap install
