If it's made in Ireland, you can probably buy it in Dublin. Traditional buys include Irish knitwear, Celtic-style jewellery, crystal, fine china and linen. But there are also loads of small shops selling eccentric and offbeat wares and your souvenir trinket doesn't have to be staid.

Like any other European nation, Ireland has a complete spectrum of shops and stores, from corner stalls to the multi-national department stores.

Ireland is probably most famous for its crystal, such as Waterford, Galway, Dublin, Tipperary and Kinsale. Craftsmen, using skills handed down from generation to generation, produce arguably the most beautiful and famous pieces of glasswork in the world.

Aran sweaters, Irish Tweed and Irish Linen also spring to mind when considering shopping in Ireland. Huge ranges of the best quality clothing, pottery and souvenirs can be found throughout Ireland.

Irelands top fashions and the best of Irish design can be found in the elegant flagship department store, Brown Thomas, located in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

Modern clothing stores have become very European, with all the leading well known names such as Laura Ashley, Marks and Spencer, Next, Principals, Benetton, and Lain competing in the Irish market place. Other stores found in Ireland are The Body Shop, Boots and Habitat. Similarly, grocery shopping is now dominated by the supermarket chains such as Tesco, Supervalu, Centra and Dunnes Stores. All offer an excellent standard and are competitively priced. There is also a huge range of small, family owned, foods shops offering a vast array of specialty foods and traditional Irish favourites such as smoked salmon and wonderful farmhouse cheeses.

Shopping hours are usually, Mon – Sat, 9am – 5:30pm/ 6pm. Many towns have a late night opening on Thursday or Friday until 2000/2100 and smaller towns may have one early closing day a week. On Sunday, main shopping centres and some of the larger deprtment stores open from 12 noon – 5pm/6pm. Many smaller supermarkets in towns and villages also open.