Verizon iPhone in Ireland

That is correct. However, you can still use the wifi functionality at hotels, McD, etc... The good news on this is that there are zero chances of racking up big data fees.

Verizon has a nice policy if your phone doesn't work in Europe. They will send you a phone (you just pay shipping) and they can charge you in one of two ways depending on your planned use (.99 and 1.29 cents per minute, I seem to recall). They set a 21-day limit, but when I ran over beause of an unanticipated surprise, they were good about it. I know the plan has changed a little since I used it (since my current Verizon phone works in Europe), but it was a better deal than renting a phone from an independent company or buying a phone in Europe (unless you're going to use it a lot, in which case I'd buy a cheap European phone).

Your current iPhone won't work in Ireland, except for what Michael said. If you want to access the Verizon network overseas, you'll have to rent a "Global Phone" through Verizon's Global Travel program. Details are on their website. Supposedly the next generation iPhone, the iPhone 5, will be both CDMA and GSM capable and will be a true global phone.

Verizon phones (all of them) will not work in any country outside of North America because they use a tecnnology that the majority of other countries don't use. AT&T and TMobile phones all use GSM sim chips, just like the rest of the world, and therefore only U.S. Travellers with any of their phones will work abroad.

Greg's comment is a tiny bit too broad: "AT&T and TMobile phones all use GSM sim chips, just like the rest of the world, and therefore only U.S. Travellers with any of their phones will work abroad." Some Asian countries don't use GSM technology. For example, AT&T and T-Mobile users would generally be out of luck in Japan. It is somewhat complicated, though, because some of the new 3G technologies will work there now. Perhaps someday, there will be one phone that will work everywhere.

Greg is apparently unaware that Verizon does indeed offer use of a global (GSM) phone for its customers. And there are also a couple of other Verizon models that work in Europe, as well. The vast majority do not, but it's wrong to say that no Verizon phones work abroad.

Following up on the original question, can we use our Verizon iPhone for Skype calls in Ireland?

Skype runs on wifi, so yes, you could use it if you were in a wifi area.

Thanks to everyone who answered my question about using the Verizon iPhone in Ireland. We plan to borrow a global-enabled phone from Verizon, not a smart phone, but they are available. The rate is 1.29 a minute and a charge for sending and receiving texts, if you want that capability. There are other usage options and some fine print that needs to be read, but I think this will work for us. You call or email Verizon to request the phone. They send the phone to you and then you return the phone when you return from Europe. We plan to take a Netbook, also.