The number of trips by British people to Ireland in March this year increased by 26.4% to 365,700 compared to the same month last year, according to the Central Statistics Office.
This brings the total number of trips from the UK to 849,500 for the first three months of 2008, an increase of 10% from the same quarter in 2007.
The UK figures help offset a negative trend in visits from the US (down 8.6% to 64,900) and from the rest of Europe (down 6% to 185,000).