So you were hoping to finally celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on the Emerald Isle. Unless you’ve already put something into the works, or you have no financial constraints whatsoever, that’s probably not going to happen. Such is the price we pay for procrastination.

If you are looking for a good deal on a trip to Ireland later in the year, however, you might just be in luck. Not only does our favorite budget air carrier Ryanair take us there cheaply, it’s also well worth checking out the Aer Lingus flight offerings. This Irish carrier is presently offering selected flights out of Frankfurt International at no cost in air fares; all you pay are the taxes. For example, at the time of this writing, flying to Dublin out of Frankfurt on many dates in May would cost you around 73 euros, taxes and fees included. From Munich Airport (MUC), one-way fares to Dublin start at a reasonable 13 euros before taxes and fees. From Munich, flights are also offered to Cork and Belfast; fares to the latter at the end of April were going for around 56 euros, all taxes and fees included. Offers extend to one-way flights as well, so you could, for example, book an outbound flight on Aer Lingus combined with a return flight on a budget carrier.

Dublin is a pricey city, no doubt, but you can find accommodation right in the city center that won’t break the bank if you poke around a bit. A recent wire article in Stripes mentioned the Web site www.priceline.com, so I thought I’d see how their rates compared with how you’d do booking directly on a hotel’s own Web site. My informal survey showed me that the least expensive double room available at Jurys Inn on Parnell Street would go for 89 euros if booked directly with the hotel vs. 79 euros if booked through Priceline. So next time I’m headed to a major European city, I’ll comparison shop on both Web sites.

Readers, do you have any Ireland tips of your own to share?