In rural areas, the pub is far more than just a place to drink. It's the communal and conversational heart of any Irish village, and often the cultural centre too. If you're after food, advice or company, the pub is almost always the place to head for; and very often they'll also be the venues for local entertainment, especially traditional and not so traditional music.

Along with Mass and market day, the pub is the centre of Irish social activity: a cultural cliché, perhaps, but one that wears very well. Talking is an important business here, and drink is the great lubricant of social discourse. That said, it doesn't pay to arrive with too romantic a notion of what this actually means. Away from the cities and the touristed west coast, there are plenty of miserable, dingy bars where the only spark of conviviality is the dull glow of the TV. But in most big towns and cities you'll find bars heaving with life, and out in remote country villages it can be great fun drinking among the shelves of the ancient grocery shops-cum-bars you'll find dotted around.

While women will always be treated with genuine (unreconstructed) civility, it's true to say that the majority of bars in country areas are a predominantly male preserve. In the evening, especially, women travellers can expect occasional unwanted attention, though this rarely amounts to anything too unpleasant. Should your first encounters be bad ones, persist - the good nights will come, and will probably rank amongst the most memorable experiences of your trip. In the major cities and large towns things are a lot more balanced and women drinking in bars is totally the norm.

In the Republic, opening hours are Monday to Wednesday 10.30am to 11.30pm; Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10.30am to 12.30am; Sunday 12.30 to 11pm. In the North pubs are open Monday to Saturday 11am to 11pm, on Sunday 12.30 to 10pm.

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