How to Watch Irish TV Abroad

You’re sort of “stranded” abroad when left without access to your domestic content. Not being able to watch Irish TV abroad feels like a loss, as TG4, RTÉ, Virgin Media, and other amazing channels won’t work. There’s not much you can seemingly do, except rush back home to Dublin, Galway, or wherever you are, and enjoy.

An easier and more cost-effective solution is to use a VPN. VPNs can provide you with an Irish IP address needed to perform the trick. Once RTÉ or TG4 sees this IP address, it’ll assume you’re in Ireland, allowing access to its content instantly. Not all VPNs will work because some of them lack servers in this country.

Stick around and we’ll explain which VPNs to use to watch Irish TV outside of Ireland and how to use them.

Why Are Irish TV Channels Inaccessible Abroad?

In simple words, because of copyrights and streaming licenses – something along those lines. TV channels usually have to possess a license for their content, and since they don’t own all of it, third-party copyright holders play a role in content handling.

They dictate where the content will be displayed, for example, as well. Irish TV channels such as RTÉ, TG4, Virgin Media, and others, are allowed to broadcast their content only within Irish borders. At least the majority of the content, as some will work abroad.

The telltale sign that you can’t watch Irish TV outside of Ireland is geo-restriction messages. For example, when trying to watch TG4 abroad, we were struck by this screen:

The same happened when trying to access RTÉ outside Ireland:

You can see the keyword like “rights restrictions“, which implies we’re abroad and can’t watch RTÉ2 or any other channel in this country. To counter this, you’ll need a VPN service with fast Irish servers, unlimited bandwidth, and excellent unblocking abilities.

How to Unblock Irish TV Outside of Ireland: Tutorial

Our team recommends NordVPN, which is a choice of many VPN users from Ireland. NordVPN fulfills the criteria above, plus, it’s risk-free, thanks to a 30-day money-back guarantee. This makes it ideal to watch Irish TV live abroad temporarily.

If you’re on vacation for two or three weeks, you can use NordVPN and be refunded once you’re back in Ireland. If not, you can keep using it and enjoy streaming, torrenting, and overall online safety. Luckily, unblocking Irish TV channels abroad is extremely simple.

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Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:

1. Subscribe to NordVPN. You can use the button above or this link to obtain its 73% discount for 24-month plans, with some free months. NordVPN’s annual plans are discounted now too, so feel free to explore them.
2. Install NordVPN on the device you’ll use for watching Irish TV abroad.
3. Open NordVPN’s client and log in with your email and password.
4. Unwrap the server list by selecting More Connection Options.
5. Scroll down, locate Ireland, and click or tap on it once to connect. You’ll get an Irish IP in seconds.
6. Visit RTÉ or any other channel and start watching.

We’ve taken RTÉ as an example in this guide, but rest assured, the same principle is valid for accessing other Irish TV channels overseas. You can even access UK TV anywhere if you want.

Best VPNs to Watch Irish TV Live Anywhere in 2026

Waking up early and putting on some Irish TV shows or news on the TV feels so warm and home-like. You can now do this even in another part of the world by using these secure and speedy VPNs we tested for you.

1. NordVPN: the best VPN for streaming overall

NordVPN is the top choice to access Irish TV channels outside Ireland. It sports over 6,300 servers, with over 50 fast servers in your homeland. This provider comes with apps for all devices and 10 simultaneous connections, ensuring swift access to Irish TV device-wise.

A huge perk of NordVPN is its speed, which is at the very top. NordVPN is a better performer than ExpressVPN, offering the NordLynx protocol and 10 Gbps server ports. Another benefit is unlimited bandwidth, which comes in handy for binge-watchers overseas.

We appreciate NordVPN’s streaming optimization for other platforms. For instance, you can use it to access Netflix Ireland abroad and watch content exclusive to this library. Our tests have also shown NordVPN’s P2P prowess, which shines thanks to P2P-dedicated servers.

This provider comes with excellent security and privacy if that tickles your senses. 256-bit encryption will keep you hidden from your ISP, while Double VPN servers will tighten up your security by making you untraceable. Speaking of that, NordVPN doesn’t store logs.

It allows you to soar the internet like an eagle and not be tracked all the time. NordVPN is the best option to watch Irish TV because of its easy-to-use apps. Even mobile apps are awesome, with access to an ad blocker and malware protection for safer online voyages.

As said, NordVPN doesn’t cost a top dollar. You’ll pay 73% less for its 2-year plans and the Basic version is enough to unblock all Irish TV channels outside Ireland. Go ahead, give it a shot, and don’t miss a single second of your favorite, home-cooked Irish content.

See price at NordVPN

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2. ExpressVPN: a reliable VPN to unblock Irish TV channels

ExpressVPN is awesome if you want easy and safe access to Irish TV overseas. Its elementary apps give its rivals a run for their money. On top of that, ExpressVPN’s 3,000+ servers (many in Ireland) are enough to satisfy even the thirstier users. What about speeds?

As said, NordVPN performs a tad better but this one is breathing down its neck. ExpressVPN’s average speed reduction of about 20% is barely noticeable. You’ll watch TG4 and RTÉ abroad in the highest possible quality on all devices, enjoying a smooth ride.

ExpressVPN works on any device too and it tops our list of the best Firestick VPNs. Wanna watch Irish TV abroad on a large screen? No problem – all Smart TVs are supported as well! With 8 simultaneous connections, it’s slightly less impressive than NordVPN.

On the flip side, features like split tunneling and Advanced Protection will spice things up a bit. Smart DNS is supported as well, with its fancy MediaStreamer name. It’s useful for streaming on US platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and even Sling TV.

ExpressVPN’s security and privacy are first-league but we won’t go into details as they’re irrelevant here. One thing to notice is ExpressVPN’s addition of dedicated IP addresses that can help you bypass IP blacklisting and avoid captcha – a very nice add-on.

It also has a great 48% discount thanks to 3 free months for its 12-month plan. ExpressVPN isn’t the most affordable option but it’s pretty valuable for the price. Besides, it’s the most audited VPN, with over 18 third-party audits on its apps and a no-log policy.

See price at ExpressVPN

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3. Private Internet Access: the cheapest option

Irishmen and Irishwomen will fall in love with PIA at first sight. It’s affordable and costs a hair over $2.1 a month, with a nifty “little” 30-day money-back guarantee. Yet, with 30,000+ servers globally, it has hundreds of 10 Gbps servers in your homeland – can it get better?

Yes. Private Internet Access lets you watch Irish TV outside Ireland on UNLIMITED devices, unlike NordVPN’s 10 or ExpressVPN’s 8. Granted, Private Internet Access isn’t as fast as these but our tests have shown it’s more than enough even if you ramp up the video quality a bit.

PIA’s apps can be found on all devices and you have native clients for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS. Its Windows app is clunkier but you’ll get used to it quickly. PIA offers MACE that blocks ads and trackers, making streaming sites a better place.

Moreover, it has dedicated streaming servers in the US, allowing you to watch MAX in another country or access American Netflix. The provider has no bandwidth caps and uses WireGuard to make sure each connection is smooth and without restrictions.

Its MultiHop servers can double your encryption, on top of which, you can use Shadowsocks to obfuscate your VPN traffic. Private Internet Access offers ample optional extras, such as dedicated IP addresses, antivirus, and Smart DNS that you can activate in seconds.

We explained that PIA is also great for unblocking American TV channels worldwide. That’s because it has servers in all 51 states. As you can see, a VPN this cheap doesn’t have to be a slouch. This is your gateway to watching Irish TV overseas for a pocket change.

Discover Private Internet Access

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Can I Watch Irish TV Abroad With a Free VPN?

To reinforce our point about using NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and PIA, we’ll mention that free providers have no Irish servers. Otherwise, we’d save you money and recommend them instead. One provider you can try is TunnelBear, with a couple of free Irish servers.

This provider has over 3,000 servers in about 50 countries, which is impressive for a free service. Since watching Irish TV abroad is pretty simple and the channels won’t detect VPNs, TunnelBear will work. Unfortunately, you’ll be facing a big problem – bandwidth limit.

TunnelBear’s free plan is capped at 2 GB of monthly bandwidth. This is FAR from sufficient for watching content, let alone streaming Irish TV live abroad. Live streaming is bandwidth-hungry and requires no limits to work properly, which TunnelBear can’t provide.

The best way to do this for free is, again, to use one of the top three providers above. They’re usable for free for 30 days thanks to a money-back guarantee. We explained how this works in our ExpressVPN free trial tutorial but rest assured, it’s the same with NordVPN and PIA.

Conclusion

So, if you’re in dire need of entertainment overseas and want to watch Irish TV live outside of Ireland, using a VPN is your only solution.

Luckily for you, this solution is also the best, as using NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Private Internet Access unblocks all Irish TV channels.

Connect to a server in this country and start watching Virgin Media, RTÉ, TG4, or any other channel you’re fond of.

Watch Irish Television with NordVPN