Moving away from Ireland used to mean losing Irish TV, or settling for short clips online. Today a decent internet connection is all you need to watch the Irish channels live, wherever you have settled. This page covers how it works, what the time difference means, and what to check in each country.
Irish TV abroad: how it works
With Irish IPTV, the channels reach you over the internet rather than through an aerial, a dish or a local cable company. That means your location makes no difference to what you can watch: the same all major Irish national channels, Irish sport and Irish news and entertainment, with 23,000+ live channels in total and 93,000+ films and series on demand.
Getting started abroad is the same as at home:
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Step 1
Choose your plan
Pick 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. Every plan includes the same channels and features; only the length and the price per month change.
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Step 2
Message us on WhatsApp
Tap the button on your plan. The message with your plan and price is already written: just press send, and we reply with the payment details.
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Step 3
Start watching
After payment your login details arrive on WhatsApp. Follow the short guide for your device and start watching.
There is no local installer, no dish to align and no contract in a foreign language. If you can install an app and type a password, you can watch Irish TV abroad.
Time differences at a glance
The one thing that changes when you move is the clock. Live channels play at Irish time, so the evening news and the big matches arrive at very different hours depending on where you live.
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United Kingdom
Same time as Ireland all year round
The biggest Irish community abroad, and the easiest: kick-off times and the evening schedule are exactly as at home, and you pay in pounds with no conversion.
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United States
5 hours behind on the East Coast, 8 on the West Coast
A Saturday 3 pm throw-in in Ireland is 10 am in New York and Boston and 7 am in San Francisco. Clocks change on different dates in spring and autumn, so for a few weeks a year the gap is one hour smaller.
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Canada
4 to 5 hours behind in Atlantic Canada and Toronto, 8 in Vancouver
Weekend afternoon matches land on a Canadian weekend morning. The Irish evening news arrives in the middle of your afternoon in Toronto.
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Australia
9 to 11 hours ahead in Sydney and Melbourne, 7 to 8 in Perth
A Sunday afternoon final in Ireland goes out late on Sunday night or very early Monday morning in Sydney, which is why many people abroad record the big games or watch them on demand.
When a Saturday 3 pm throw-in in Ireland starts where you live
| City | Irish summer (late March to late October) | Irish winter |
|---|---|---|
| London, Manchester, Glasgow | 3 pm Saturday | 3 pm Saturday |
| Madrid, Paris, Berlin | 4 pm Saturday | 4 pm Saturday |
| Dubai | 6 pm Saturday | 7 pm Saturday |
| New York, Boston, Toronto | 10 am Saturday | 10 am Saturday |
| Chicago | 9 am Saturday | 9 am Saturday |
| San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver | 7 am Saturday | 7 am Saturday |
| Perth | 10 pm Saturday | 11 pm Saturday |
| Brisbane | Midnight Saturday into Sunday | 1 am Sunday |
| Sydney, Melbourne | Midnight Saturday into Sunday | 2 am Sunday |
| Auckland | 2 am Sunday | 4 am Sunday |
The table leaves out the few weeks in spring and autumn when countries change their clocks on different dates. During those weeks the gap to North America is one hour smaller, so double-check big fixtures in March, late October and early November.
The Irish in the UK
Britain has the largest Irish community abroad, and it is the easiest place to watch from. The UK and Ireland share the same time all year round, so the evening schedule and every kick-off time are exactly as at home. Our prices are in pounds, which means customers in the UK pay the price on the card with no conversion at all.
UK broadband is generally fast enough for IPTV. If you live in a shared house or a flat with a busy network, a network cable to the TV or box makes the biggest difference at peak times.
The Irish in the USA and Canada
On the East Coast, from Boston and New York to Toronto, you are five hours behind Ireland. That works out well for sport: afternoon matches in Ireland land on a weekend morning, perfect for a late breakfast in front of the game. On the West Coast the gap grows to eight hours, so a 3 pm throw-in in Ireland is a 7 am start in San Francisco or Vancouver.
The Irish evening news arrives in the early afternoon on the East Coast and in the late morning in California. Many people abroad watch it at lunchtime, or keep it on in the background while they work from home.
Prices are in pounds, so a dollar card is converted by your bank when you pay. Most North American banks show the converted amount before you confirm.
The Irish in Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand are the hardest places to follow Irish TV live, simply because of the clock. Sydney and Melbourne are nine to eleven hours ahead, Perth seven to eight, and Auckland eleven to thirteen. A Saturday afternoon match in Ireland goes out late on Saturday night in Perth and in the small hours of Sunday on the east coast.
Three habits help. Decide in advance which matches are worth an alarm. Keep the rest for the weekend highlights programmes. And use the on-demand library for the evenings, because films and series do not depend on the Irish schedule at all. Our Irish expat TV guide has more ideas for living with the time difference.
Elsewhere: Europe, the Middle East and beyond
In most of mainland Europe you are one hour ahead of Ireland, which barely matters. In the Gulf you are three or four hours ahead, so Irish evening programmes arrive late at night and afternoon matches in the early evening. The service works the same way wherever you are, as long as the connection is stable.
Internet speed abroad
The speed you need is the same as at home: around 10 Mbps of stable speed for one HD stream, and 25 Mbps or more for the best picture on a large TV. What varies from country to country is the quality of the connection in the evening, when local networks are busiest.
- Run a speed test at the time you usually watch, not in the morning.
- Use a network cable for the main TV if you can. It is the most reliable fix for buffering anywhere in the world.
- On mobile data, check your allowance: an evening of live TV uses several gigabytes.
- In hotels and on public Wi-Fi, expect slower speeds at busy times.
If the picture freezes, our guide to IPTV buffering walks through the causes in order, starting with the quickest fixes.
Paying from abroad
There is one price list for everyone, in pounds sterling. Whether your account is in euros, dollars or another currency, your bank converts the payment at its own rate. All plans are on our Irish IPTV prices page. Under each price you will also see an approximate euro amount, so customers in the eurozone know roughly what to expect.
You order the same way from any country: tap the WhatsApp button on your plan, send the message and follow the payment details we reply with. WhatsApp works in nearly every country, so there is no international call to make.
Keeping the family connected to Irish
For many families abroad, Irish TV is about more than sport and news. Programmes in Irish, children’s shows from home and the Christmas schedule help children who are growing up in another country stay close to the language and the culture. Save the Irish-language and children’s channels as favourites on the family TV, so they are as easy to reach as the local channels. Grandparents at home and grandchildren abroad watching the same programme on the same evening is one of the small pleasures a good connection makes possible.
Watching while travelling
The same login works wherever you are. Install a player app on your phone, tablet or laptop before you travel, check it on your home connection, and you can follow the news from home on holiday, on a work trip or on a visit to family in another country.
Getting started from abroad
Before you order, send us the Irish channels you care about and your device type on WhatsApp, and we will confirm everything. Support runs around the clock, which matters when your evening is Ireland’s early morning.
Ask about watching from abroad (opens WhatsApp)
For the full picture of what is included, see Irish channels on IPTV, and for setup on each device, our guide on how to set up IPTV.
