1hr flights from Manchester Airport to Dublin cost (inclusive of taxes and charges) £32 without checked baggage and £49 with 1 bag checked in (on the PLUS fair) - must add £6 handling fee.
flights from Heathrow terminal 1 have a higher taxes and charges fee bring cost without luggage to £56 plus the handling fee
can accrue Qantas frequent flyer points
rental car in UK or Ireland
Hertz - ~$55/day for small automatic in UK, and ~$65/d in Ireland
Virgin Velocity Rewards can be redeemed for Europcar car rentals
weather in June:
daylight hours 4am-11pm but only average 4-5hrs sunlight per day
London avg min 11degC - avg. max 20degC with rain on a third of the days (London is one of the driest regions of UK)
Galway avg min 9degC - avg. max. 17degC with high humidity and 75mm rain/mth with just over 50% of days having rain. Avg temp. is 13-14degC.
Dublin has similar temperatures but only rains on a third of the days
yes, mid-Summer in Ireland is about the same weather as mid-Winter in Melbourne but without the very cold days and frosts, so bring jumper and trousers!
toll roads in Ireland:
Dublin M50 ring road - must pay €3 per trip online before 8pm the following day - pay online, by phone: 1890 501 050, or at PayZone outlets
48km scenic mountain drive from Laragh over Sally's Gap via R115 then R759, N81 (or one could continue on from Glendalough and skip Sally's Gap) to Russborough House, Rathballyong
36km drive from Russborough House to Castletown House, St Raphael's Manor which is 23km west of Dublin