I've never quite understood why Irish newspapers seem to always use the US style long date format on the top of each page. E.g. April 6, 2003 but we always use the Day/Month/Year format for short dates. For companies who regularly deal with North American clients it's normal to always write the month in letters to avoid confusion even in short format dates.
15/JUL/2003 or 15 / JULY / 2003 usually shortened to 3 letters.
At least that way there's no risk of confusing people.
As for times, just like the UK, people very rarely speak in the 24 hour system or even say am or pm.
If it's 16:00 it's 4 O'Clock or if you want to be really specific "4 in the afternoon". If you said it's "sixteen hundred hours" people would think you were pretty weird.
Although our voicemail system insists on calling out times like this "This message was left at 15 hours 32" (Must be French (alcatel or something) )
Post codes in the Republic of Ireland were never implemented at all! I think we're the only country in the EU not to use them. Addresses are usually in the "house name number", Street, Town, County. Format.
Dublin and Cork, being larger cities have delivery zones.. So you get addresses ending in Dublin 3 or Cork 4 etc.
The communications regulation agency (a bit like the US FCC) which has now got responsibilities for regulating the postal services, as well as electronic communications seems to be determined to introduce them as they see the Post Offices incrediably complex computerised sorting system which works using a form of fuzzy logic to machine read non-codified addresses and its extensive local knowledge as a huge barrier to entry into the postal market. It also hinders marketing companies etc. It's much easier to provide a postal service using codes than trying to sort millions of items with "traditional" addresses.
The non-codified system doesn't seem to hinder An Post / Letterpost (The Post Office)'s ability to rapidly deliver and sort mail though. Pretty much guarenteed 1 day delivery to anywhere in Ireland. Post a letter at anytime before 10pm (at a main post office, by the collection time on the box elsewhere) and it will arrive overnight at the address. Doesn't seem to hinder the use of computerised sorting either.
I think the addresses are "friendlier" too, much more human!.
