Ireland is one of Europe’s prominent tech hubs, thanks to its low corporation taxes. It also has a large ex-pat population.

As a result, VPNs are popular across the country, not least because of the close links with the neighbouring UK.

If you’re searching for a Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider for use there it can often be hard to know which to choose and where to turn for advice.

In this guide, we will give you all the information you need to know to find the best VPN for Ireland after testing many of the most popular Ireland VPNs.

Ireland has got one of Europe’s more robust sets of privacy laws in place, but there is still plenty of reasons for people in Ireland to want to keep their online activity private and secure.

Protecting yourself at home by connecting to an Irish server is important. Getting an Ireland IP address to browse online with more anonymity matters to a lot of people as well.

But so too is accessing geo-restricted content from overseas is also important for many, with online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video from the UK and the USA particularly popular.

But there are plenty more benefits to using a VPN too. Different providers have different features and not all are ideal for users in Ireland. Not every secure VPN works with all the major operating systems too.

It is a tough choice. Which is why we have picked out our top 7 best VPNs for Ireland which you can read all about below.

Top 7 Irish VPNs

Further down this article, we will explain the thinking behind our research and our recommendations and provide some expert advice on VPNs and other features.

But for now, lets begin with a run down of our expert recommendations of the best VPN for Ireland.

1. IPVanish

IPVanish has been one of the leading VPNs available for years and their Irish servers and nearby locations really make them stand out.

VPN Server provision is located in Dublin and across the water in four locations in Great Britain. Further afield, most of mainland Europe is covered along with the west coast of the US too.

So no matter whether you want to protect your privacy on secure servers closer to home or unblock and stream content from further afield, you’re covered with IPVanish’s huge global server network.

The large server network is not IPVanish’s only big selling point either. It offers unlimited simultaneous device connections, which means you can connect as many devices as you like with a single account.

The encryption and online security offered by IPVanish is second-to-none and there are features like an automatic kill switch, and DNS leak protection as standard too.

That strong security means your internet traffic is always secure and your internet service provider in Ireland cannot see what you are sending through your internet connection.

There is a no logs policy that can be depended on and you get unlimited bandwidth, plus you can easily access geo-restricted content from all over the world. Data retention laws in Ireland are pretty good already but with IPVanish, there is simply no data there to be retained.

IPVanish is not the best at unblocking streaming platforms, but it can let you access BBC iPlayer and many other popular streaming services.

There are dedicated apps for most devices, including the Amazon Firestick and Amazon Fire TV and unlimited concurrent connections available with every subscription, most readers will not need to look any further.

If you sign up and don’t like the service, there’s a lengthy 30-day money back guarantee where you can get a refund.

Try our #1 Recommended VPN

30-day money back guarantee

2. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is another big-name provider that offers an excellent VPN in Ireland.

It offers one of the largest ranges of servers available, with more than 3,000 individual servers located in 94 countries available to every user. This includes a number of Irish VPN server options as well as multiple VPN servers in neighbouring Great Britain too.

Their larger server network helps to ensure fast connection speeds for all and ExpressVPN quite simply offers one of the fastest VPN connection speeds you will find anywhere,.

This VPN service is registered offshore in the British Virgin Islands which means it is also able to offer near-perfect privacy guarantees, including a proven no logs policy that has been confirmed and audited by a third party.

It’s security protocols are up there with the very best and you also get features like a kill switch, port forwarding, and much more included as standard.

If you want to access sites that are usually unavailable in Ireland, including the main streaming service provisions, ExpressVPN is ideal.

You can access BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, Virgin Media Player, and Netflix and all the streaming services you can think of, while its good if you want to access local Irish services from overseas too.

Their prices might be a little higher than average, but they do offer an excellent 30-day money-back guarantee which means you can test their service across all your connected devices before committing to subscribe to their service.

Definitely one of the best VPNs for Irish people to use.

Get 3-months free using the link below

3. NordVPN

NordVPN has invested significantly in its server network of late and the results can be seen in their improved service which makes them one of the best VPN services around.

They now offer a far more extensive server network, including more than 50 Irish VPN servers and many more in Great Britain and other neighbouring EU countries.

But not only this, their new and improved servers mean that NordVPN can also offer much more consistently fast connections than was previously the case.

They’re also P2P friendly if you’re into torrenting and work extremely well with streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services as well.

NordVPN offers strong security protections including top-level encryption that ensures all VPN traffic is protected. It comes with terrific privacy protections including a no logs policy you can trust.

There is also a great selection of additional online security features, such as double-VPN connections, port forwarding, and VPN over Tor connections. If your VPN connection drops, you can also protect yourself with a kill switch too.

This makes them a fast and secure provider. With prices lower than many of their fellow premium providers, NordVPN now represents an excellent value VPN for Ireland for everyone in Ireland and beyond.

4. VPN.ac

VPN.ac is a relatively small provider but still offers an excellent bet for Irish VPN users thanks to their combination of fast download speeds and top-level security.

VPN.ac’s encryption is as good as it gets and for more experienced users, there is also a set of additional security features you can play with too. When it comes to advanced users, VPN.ac is nothing less than one of the best VPNs around.

Their privacy provisions are as robust as it gets and include a robust no logs policy that is rock solid. You also get six simultaneous connections with every account making them a great bet for users with multiple devices and even families.

The VPN.ac sever location list is a little more limited, and they do not currently have any servers located in Ireland. But they can still work to unblock most major streaming services including BBC iPlayer and offer apps for all the major operating systems too.

But they do have servers covering all the major locations, including neighbouring Great Britain, which should be sufficient for most Irish internet users.

Save 20% off VPN.ac using the coupon “VPNCOMPARE20“

5. Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most popular VPNs in the world and with good reason.

They offer superb privacy protection, which has been proven in several court cases in the USA. Their no logs policy really is one you can trust.

• See Also: Our Best No-Log VPN Service Guide

Their encryption provisions are solid too and there are plenty of bonus features like a kill switch too. Given that all of this comes at an extremely reasonable price, it is little wonder so many users have signed up.

Private Internet Access VPN offers servers in more than 84 countries including several in Ireland meaning you can easily get an Irish IP Address.

There are high speed connections for all users and you get ten simultaneous connections with very subscription.

Over the past few years they’ve expanded rapidly and were recently bought by KAPE, owners of ExpressVPN, CyberGhost VPN and Zenmate. There is a strong customer support team and you can use Private Internet Access to access content from around the world with ease.

6. Surfshark

In the sixth spot, we have Surfshark VPN, a VPN provider that was launched around four years ago, in the British Virgin Islands (Sadly, it’s now registered in the Netherlands).

Surfshark offers a wide variety of features that work together to provide privacy and security and let you access content from around the world.

These include all the main VPN security protocols, robust 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, and everything you need for a fast and secure connection.

Subscribers to Surfshark VPN also get access to CleanWeb, Whitelister, MultiHop, and more.

There is a large server network including servers in Ireland and across all major locations in western Europe and around the world. Surfshark comes with unlimited simultaneous connections and a terrific range of apps

It also has excellent customer support, lower prices than its competitors, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Definitely one of the best Ireland VPN packages you will find.

7. CyberGhost

Last but by no means least on our list, there is CyberGhost, a VPN service headquartered in Romania, which is one of the top VPN in Ireland choices recommended by industry experts.

If you are new to VPNs, some of the user-friendly features found on CyberGhost VPNs impressive range of VPN apps could make them the ideal choice for you.

CyberGhost offers one of the largest VPN networks in the industry, spanning through 91 countries, and providing 9,300+ servers.

This includes no fewer than 89 servers in Ireland, which is more than enough to satisfy demand and allow you to get an Irish IP Address and experience fast speeds and not suffer from issues such as overcrowded servers.

CyberGhost is also known for having the most robust security and privacy features, it keeps no logs, and it has one of the VPN industry’s longest lasting guarantees with a 45-day money-back guarantee offered as standard.

Unfortunately their no-log claims haven’t been audited but also there have been no reports of any lapses in security.

They are great with torrenting and online streaming services too. Unblocking BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming services is easy and with features like a kill switch included as standard and competitive pricing, CyberGhost VPN is definitely on of the best VPNs for Ireland.

How to choose a VPN for Ireland?

When choosing the best VPNs for Ireland, there are a number of features that you need to look into and ensure that they are present to be able to confirm that the VPN is actually going to deliver the service that you expect.

Here are the top five considerations when researching for the best VPN in Ireland:

Is there a free VPN for Ireland?

To answer the question – yes, there are free VPNs that you can use in or for Ireland.

However, you really should not do it, as these free VPNs are never good enough. Since they are free, that means that no one pays for them, which leaves the company without the money to run their service.

That is why even the best free VPN apps will often have only a few servers, in one or two countries, and they will always be overcrowded and offer anything but high speed connections.

Running a VPN costs a lot of money too, so these companies have to fund their business costs and look to generate profits in other ways. Those ways tend to be to the detriment of their users.

Many of these so-called free VPNs will record your internet data in order to sell it to fund their service. This means that they offer little or no real privacy protection.

You will often find yourself bombarded with adverts from your VPN client and sometimes, they will skip essential functions such as encrypting your internet connection, making the VPN next to useless.

It gets worse. These free VPNs can also be bundled together with malware and spyware that infiltrates your devices and undertakes all sorts of malicious activities. Many free VPNs have shady links to unknown Chinese companies and governments in regimes like Russia and Iran too.

The lure of not paying for a VPN can be tempting, but it really is not worth the risk.

Can I get an Irish IP Address?

Yes, absolutely.

You can do this by using any VPN that has servers in Ireland, simply by connecting to those servers. Doing so will cause your original IP address to be moved aside, and you will get a new IP, which belongs to the server you have just connected to.

For every service on the internet, you will appear to be located in Ireland for as long as you are connected to one of those servers.

Will a VPN protect my privacy in Ireland?

Online privacy is as much of an issue of public concern in Ireland as elsewhere in the world.

In the past, Eoin O’Dell, an associate professor in law at Trinity College Dublin, raised concerns over the amount of personal data social media sites and other large tech companies hold on us.

This form of “surveillance capitalism”, as Professor O’Dell has termed it, is just one of a myriad of different concerns over online privacy, alongside state surveillance and the increasingly sophisticated skills of hackers.

A VPN is not a complete panacea to these online privacy concerns. But it does offer a high level of protection to users.

When using a VPN, all of your online data is encrypted, which stops prying eyes from being able to scrutinise your online activity.

A VPN also hides your IP Address by passing all of your online data through an external server. This helps to protect your online identity from the sites you visit as well as stop your ISP from keeping a record of your online history too.

It is these protections which have seen the number of VPN users multiplying rapidly in recent years, both in Ireland and around the world.

Can I use an Ireland VPN for Kodi and Torrenting?

Yes, you can, but there are a few limitations.

Kodi users are all strongly advised to use a VPN whenever streaming content through this hugely popular media platform. This means what you watch remains private.

However, remember, accessing copyrighted material is illegal whether you’re using a VPN or not so ensure you stay within the law and access only legal content.

The most popular VPNs for Kodi users tend to be the same as for regular internet users. But if you are using Kodi on an Amazon Fire Stick, you will want to opt for a provider like IPVanish or ExpressVPN which offer a dedicated Amazon app.

Some VPN providers do have restrictions on Torrenting. A few block it altogether, while others only permit it on specific servers, which can get busy at times.

It is best to do your research and find a provider which allows Torrenting across its network. All of those recommended in this article should be fine.

It is also worth noting that while the answer to the question ‘are VPNs legal?’ is yes, some torrenting of copyrighted content is not. Using a VPN to do this, doesn’t alter the fact that the activity is illegal and if you are caught, there are likely to be consequences.

Conclusion

Irish internet users have many of the same problems as those elsewhere in the world and as online privacy and restrictions creep into our daily lives, many of us turn to VPN services.

After extensive testing we found IPVanish to be the best VPN for Ireland. It comes with all the security and privacy protections you need plus a 30-day money-back guarantee and lots of bonus features.

If you don’t fancy IPVanish, we have also listed the six other best VPNs for Ireland that you may wish to consider.

Don’t forget whichever you end up choosing, they all offer a money back guarantee so ensure you use it thoroughly within that period to see how they perform for the kinds of tasks you’re likely to do.

I would love to hear which VPN you ended up choosing so please post a comment below and share your experiences.