Long story short version: my cell provider was bought out and I now have Sprint. I have learned they have a program called Global Roaming. I was on the phone with customer service and I found out that we now have free unlimited data and texting while in Ireland as well as Northern Ireland (along with numerous other countries). Phone calls are .20 a minute but they suggested Face Time or some of the free calling apps now available. Of course, I can still use my Tesco flip phone. This is really exciting to me and opens up more opportunities and want to share.
That's a great deal... I wonder which networks they partner with.
Is it .20 a minute to call the US or to call Ireland while you're traveling? They might be different rates... so make sure you know before you decide to ring an Irish B&B while traveling... also find out if you will need to use the 353 prefix when calling Irish numbers on your phone or (Irish numbers begin with a zero when calling within the country and the zero gets replaced with 353 when calling from outside Ireland... because you're using your US carrier, you might need to still treat it like you're calling from outside Ireland).
That's when Skype can be very handy... you can use your mobile data to call numbers in the US or Ireland.