Hutch: Not sure what they're called here but they're disappearing rapidly at the moment usually being replaced by traffic light controlled crossings you only really see them in smaller towns.
The poles would normally be painted black/white here too. However, I think the town council has taken that aspect of the road markings into its own hands.
You rarely see zig-zag lines approaching a pedestrian crossing here. Jut 2 large diamond warning signs with pictures of a pedestrian crossing a zebra crossing on them.
While, theoretically you should park with your rear reflectors pointing into the traffic I don't think that rule is ever enforced... although if someone crashed into you you might find yourself fully liable if it were outside a light-up area.
I find Irish local athorities have had a culture of being very casual about road signs and marking though and tend in towns to adopt weird versions of the national standards. National routes are all controlled by the NRA (national roads athority) so are very uniformly marked thesedays.
