Hey Missy
Use and abuse places like mothercare and Kealy’s for the information and knowledge and a their broad brand ranges – so you can test and check. Places like smyths don’t have staff in the "know" or "care" in my opinion.
Shop around for the phil and teds as well. We got ours from http://www.groovystyle.com (UK but can’t remember if they deliver to Ireland) and we got a great deal on the buggy, the coccoon, cosy toe etc. It will save you money in the long run and is the most managable double buggie around. Now I am not a person who buys brands for the sake of it or name drop for the sake of it and we did our research. You can come and give mine a push anytime! 😉 with my dd of course 😉 😉
A great place for baby clothes is Boots. Now not sure if the bigger Boots here would carry the baby clothing ranges they do in the UK but you can double check online. Inexpensive and normally good quality. Mini Mode and Molly and Jacks is their brand names. Baby gap baby gear is very good quality as well and generous sizes. Mothercare and Next sizes are generous as well so get a bit of mileage out of them.