So you're about to head to Ireland for a few days of meetings. All your bags are packed, you're ready to go. You're standing there outside your door. And you realize: you have no idea what Ireland is like.

[Note: If you'd like to get an idea of what this app is like, check out the free Sampler app, available in the App Store via search term "ridicsampler".]

Sure, you know where you're staying. Maybe you've got a guidebook that says where to visit if you manage to scrape together a few hours of sightseeing. But what's Ireland really like? More practically:

How should you greet your business partners?

If you're invited to someone's house, should you be on time? What sort of gift should you bring? What sort of gift, if any, should you bring to your initial business meeting?

Are there any special considerations for female travelers?
Or female business associates?

What do the electrical outlets look like?

Perhaps most importantly: if you order the barm brack, what on Earth is that going to look like?


Ireland: Business Traveler's Passport is an iPhone/iPad app for business travelers. It contains over a hundred pages of information on Ireland, focusing on areas of particular concern to the business traveler. While it does contain a small amount of information on hotels and sightseeing opportunities, these sections are intentionally light. Instead, it has entire sections of information on:

• Ireland Basics: A brief history of Ireland, with some background and historical highlights.
• Country Facts: demographics and other statistical data.
• Doing Business: Greetings & courtesies, meeting protocol, business attire, business entertaining, etc.

• Women: As travelers, are there any special considerations in Ireland? As a businesswoman, are any extra measures needed? How are Irish women treated in their own country?
• Money: What does the money look like? How much should different service people be tipped, if at all?

• Travel: Visa info, embassy & consulate locations, departure formalities, electrical system, etc.

• Safety: Emergency numbers, notes on street crime, hospital locations, health & medical care

• Points of Interest: Some interesting museums and cultural sites, in case there's time in between meetings.

• City Views: Background on Dublin, with a handful of hotel descriptions.
• Telephone System: The subtleties of dialing to & from Ireland and Northern Ireland.
• Life Cycle: From birth to marriage to old age, what's life like?
• Gift Giving: A few pages on the subtleties of giving personal or business gifts.

• Holidays and Festivals: Solid background on the popular holidays and festivals.
• Religion: Background on Ireland's varying religious climates.
• Superstitions and Folklore: Common superstitions, along with Irish stereotypes.
• Food and Recipes: Descriptions of common Irish foods, along with recipes for appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts, including soda bread, coddle, traditional Irish stew, colcannon, and the aforementioned barm brack.

• Embassies: Embassy locations and contact info for dozens of countries with representation in Ireland.
  

Being part of the Business Traveler's Passport series means that the app also has easy navigation, editable bookmarks, changeable font sizes, is searchable, and has an array of text & background color choices. If you've got any questions, do drop us a note! Shockingly, we actually enjoy talking to our customers.