(For you Harry Potter fans, I am not-so-secretly wishing that one day I will learn apparition!) You can load money onto your card (or 'top-up' as the Irish say) by using an app on your phone, or you can stop in almost any convenience store (they are everywhere) and add money to your card there. So the card is essentially a debit card specifically for Irish transportation. I can also use it for just about ALL the transports (bus, Luas, & train), and I can use it in pretty much ALL parts of Ireland and not just Dublin!
That being said, my number one "people mover" is actually the underappreciated and original...my own feet! Yes, I walk almost everywhere. It's part of the culture here, too. People are just so used to walking, and there are sidewalks everywhere. (One of the places I lived in the U.S. barely had any sidewalks, so it was hard to walk places.) There are many large streets around Dublin, which only allow pedestrians (walkers). It is common for me to walk 20 to 30 minutes one way, and, on one occasion, I did the journey in both directions, which took me close to an hour.
Walking everywhere, and for the length of time I walk now, happened quite naturally. I got into the flow of it pretty quickly. I think that's because when I first arrived the weather was nice for about three straight weeks. This meant that I knew the rain would set in soon, and I wanted to soak up every bit of sunshine while I could! Also, like I mentioned, walking is just what everyone does here. It feels really nice to be outside and moving too. Of course, I have learned to schedule things like grocery shopping around the really rainy days, which we get quite frequently in Ireland.
