How to get an Irish IP address with a VPN

VPNs are primarily designed to improve your online privacy. By encrypting your traffic, they prevent it from being read by your employer, Internet Service Provider (ISP), or government and allow you to browse the internet anonymously.

They have another benefit, though: VPNs can route your traffic through servers in other countries. This automatically provides you with a new, country-specific IP address. Since your IP address is what most geo-restricted platforms rely on to find your location, you can use a VPN to access services that would normally be unavailable abroad. So you can still stream your favorite Irish content and access important online services like banking from abroad by using an Ireland IP address

How to get an Irish IP address with a VPN

Getting an IP address from Ireland is extremely simple with a VPN; just follow the steps below.

PREMIUM COVERAGE FOR FREE: If you’re only looking for short-term VPN coverage (for example, if you’re going on vacation), you can take advantage of ExpressVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee. While you do have to pay upfront, you can cancel at any point to receive a full refund, no questions asked.

If you’d like to watch live content, it’s important to test your VPN with the steps above beforehand. This way, if anything doesn’t work as expected, you’ll have time to get help from your VPN’s customer support team and you’re less likely to miss any portion of your show.

Having more options is rarely a bad thing, but it does make choosing the best VPN for a given task particularly challenging. To simplify matters, when looking for the best VPNs for getting an Irish IP address, we only considered services which met all of the criteria listed below:

What’s the Best VPNs to get an Irish IP address?

Here is our full rundown of the best VPNs to get an IP address for Ireland:

1. ExpressVPN

Jan 2020

ExpressVPN is a strong, general-purpose VPN with more than 3,000 servers spread across 94 countries, including Ireland. It’s fast enough to stream live HD video without any noticeable buffering and better still, can unlock a huge range of geo-blocked services including RTÉ One, Amazon Prime Video, and Virgin Media One.

It offers 256-bit encryption, DNS and IPv6 leak protection, and a kill switch (desktop versions only), to guarantee your privacy at all times. Further, ExpressVPN does not log any information that could identify you. For added anonymity, users can choose to pay with Bitcoin. Customer support is available via 24/7 live chat in case you run into any problems.

This VPN has apps for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It offers custom router firmware to simplify the process of protecting all of your devices simultaneously.

BEST VPN FOR IRELAND:ExpressVPN is our top pick. It’s fast, reliable, security-conscious, and able to unblock a huge array of geo-locked services abroad. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee meaning you can try it risk-free.

Read our review of ExpressVPN.

2. NordVPN

NordVPN currently offers 35 servers in Ireland and more than 5,000 more across an additional 61 countries. It provides high speeds, and can reliably unblock sites with particularly stubborn geo-restriction measures (such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video), making it ideal for streaming. This service also allows up to six connections at once, which is more than many of its rivals.

This VPN includes a wide range of security features. There’s 256-bit encryption, protection against DNS, IPv6, WebRTC, and port forwarding leaks, and a program-specific kill switch (in every version except Android). Users can also access Tor over a VPN or send traffic through two VPN servers for double protection. NordVPN has a strict no-logs policy so your privacy is in good hands. Need help? You can contact support 24/7 over live chat.

NordVPN apps are available for Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS, and Android. It has to be manually installed on supported internet routers.

POWERFUL, LOW-COST VPN:NordVPN offers customizable security, high speeds, and the ability to unblock numerous popular sites at a very reasonable price. It also includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Here’s our full review of NordVPN.

3. CyberGhost

CyberGhost has more than 3,400 servers across 60 countries, and 20 in Ireland alone. It’s fast enough to stream live HD video without interruption, and its server list even tells you which platforms each can unblock so there’s no guesswork involved. This service permits up to seven simultaneous connections too, meaning you can protect most, if not all, of your devices with a single account.

CyberGhost is extremely user-friendly but this doesn’t mean it lacks in the security department. It features 256-bit encryption, an always-on kill switch (on every platform), and IPv6 and DNS leak protection, as well as automatic ad-blocking and malware-scanning. This VPN doesn’t log any personally identifiable information so you don’t have to worry about your activities being traced back to you, although you can pay with bitcoin for added peace of mind. Should you have any problems, live chat is available 24/7.

CyberGhost offers apps for MacOS, iOS, Windows, and Android devices. It also works with Linux-based systems and select network routers but must be configured manually.

BEGINNER-FRIENDLY VPN:CyberGhost is a strong, low-cost service with high speeds, a suite of security options, and a low price tag. It includes a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Here’s our in-depth CyberGhost review.

4. IPVanish

IPVanish offers access to more than 1,300 servers covering over 75 locations worldwide, including Ireland. With its high speeds, lightweight apps, and reasonable unblocking ability, IPVanish is great for those looking to browse and stream on-the-go. Further, with up to ten simultaneous connections allowed, it gives you the freedom to protect all of your devices at once.

Considering its low price point, IPVanish actually includes a wide range of security features. There’s 256-bit encryption, for instance, as well as DNS and IPv6 leak protection, and a kill switch (desktop apps only). This service also allows you to change your IP address at timed intervals, obfuscate OpenVPN traffic, and block local connections entirely. Best of all, IPVanish keeps no logs whatsoever. Support is on hand 24/7 via live chat.

IPVanish has apps for Windows, Android, MacOS, iOS, and Amazon Fire TV and Fire Stick. Manual configuration is required for Linux systems and select wireless routers.

FAST, VERSATILE VPN:IPVanish offers advanced security features, consistently high speeds, and the ability to protect every one of your devices. A 7-day money-back guarantee is included.

Read our full review of IPVanish.

5. PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN has fewer servers than its rivals (just 88 across 57 countries, and one in Ireland) but it provides far higher speeds. It’s also able to bypass regional restrictions on streaming services like Virgin Media One and TG4 with ease. PrivateVPN permits up to six connections at once, so it’s ideal for those looking to browse safely regardless of which device they’re using.

This service keeps you safe at all times with a combination of 256-bit AES encryption, WebRTC, IPv6, and DNS leak protection, and a strict no-logs policy. You can sign up anonymously by paying with Bitcoin and using a disposable email address. Although PrivateVPN doesn’t offer support over live chat, its staff are able to install or configure the software for you remotely, if you’d like.

PrivateVPN offers Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS apps. It works with Linux and select network routers but must be configured manually first.

STREAM AND BROWSE SAFELY:PrivateVPN is one of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested and takes your privacy seriously. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Here’s our full review of PrivateVPN.

Can I obtain an Irish IP address using a free VPN?

You might be tempted to use a free VPN but we advise against it for several reasons. First, they almost never have enough servers to support all of their users. This leads to major network slowdowns, particularly noticeable when trying to stream: video pauses and buffers frequently, if it plays at all. Additionally, free VPNs are usually the first to be blocked by major streaming platforms, so the likelihood of you being able to watch anything is fairly slim.

Servers are expensive and maintaining an international network is even more so. Free VPNs don’t charge their users upfront, but they’ve found other ways to make money. You’ll find that the vast majority inject ads into the sites you visit, but this is nothing new for free services. Some don’t stop there, though, and use tracking cookies to harvest valuable user data which can be sold to advertisers at a later date, often without the user’s knowledge or explicit consent.

Perhaps most worryingly, it’s becoming difficult to even find a safe free VPN to use. We’ve seen major players sell user bandwidth to help run a botnet in the past, and when the industry giants don’t play fair, there’s little incentive for smaller companies to do so. Recent research illustrates this: of 283 tested apps, almost 40% contained malware, over 80% leaked data over IPv6, and 18% never used any form of encryption at all.

We recommend using a reputable, well-established VPN with a track record of protecting its users’ privacy instead.

Will a VPN let me watch Irish TV abroad?

Most streaming services just look at the user’s IP address to find out their location. As such, once you’ve connected to an Irish VPN server, for all intents and purposes, you can use the internet as though you were actually in Ireland. This means that with the right VPN, you can easily access platforms like Virgin Media One, RTÉ One, and TG4 from anywhere in the world.

However, you should note that sometimes, platforms restrict access in other ways. For example, you might be required to provide an Irish payment method during the registration process. If you usually live in Ireland, you can still sign up to these services from abroad, but otherwise, they’re almost impossible to access unless they allow you to pay in gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Why else might I need an Irish IP address?

Automated fraud prevention alerts are becoming more and more common. They pop up everywhere, from your Uber and Netflix accounts to your online banking services. In theory, these are designed to let you know when your account is accessed abroad, but in practice, they can see travelers temporarily locked out of their own accounts. By connecting to a server in your home country first, though, you greatly reduce the chance that these services will even know you’re abroad.

When out and about in a foreign country, you’re essentially at the mercy of public wifi. These hotspots are convenient but may well be monitored and possibly restrict access to certain types of content. By using a VPN, you can not only bypass these restrictions and browse freely, but you also prevent any snoopers, such as malicious hackers, from tracking your activities.

Internet restrictions in Ireland

There are only a handful of blocked websites in Ireland. In 2010, Irish ISPs began restricting access to the most widely-used torrent and file-sharing sites. There’s currently a three-strikes policy in effect with users suspected of downloading copyrighted material facing suspension or even termination of their internet service.

The effectiveness of this kind of blanket blocking is questionable, however. VPNs make it trivially simple to bypass government- or ISP-imposed firewalls. They also ensure that the user’s real IP address is hidden and as such, that they cannot be identified when torrenting, rendering the three-strikes policy all but useless.