If you are reading this, you are already doing the smart thing. Most people in Ireland never look this up — they wait until they're worried, then panic-search at 2am. You are ahead. This page is the one-stop hub for everything sti.ie covers: what an STI actually is, whether your symptoms (or lack of them) mean anything, what happens at a free HSE clinic, where to go in your county, and detailed plain-language info on every common STI in Ireland.
Free help, right now
Call the HSE Sexual Health Line free on 1800 700 700 (Mon–Fri 8am–8pm, Sat 9am–5pm). It's anonymous. Or order a free HSE home test kit at sh24.ie — anyone 17+ in Ireland. Everything about at-home testing →
Start here: the four pillar guides
If you only read four pages on this site, read these. They answer the questions almost everyone has before they make an appointment.
What is an STI?
The plain-language definition, the difference between STI and STD, and the most common ones in Ireland. Read this if you're new to all of it.
Symptoms — or not?
How to tell what's an actual symptom, what's anxiety, and when to test. Most STIs in Ireland have no symptoms at all.
How testing actually works
Walk-in or appointment? What do they ask? Swab or pee or blood? How do results come back? The whole thing demystified.
Testing directory
Every free HSE clinic and home-test option in Ireland, with phone numbers and addresses.
Compare your options
HSE clinic vs sh24 home kit vs private clinic vs GP — side-by-side on cost, speed, privacy and what each one suits.
Not sure if it's an STI?
Plenty of things look or feel like an STI but aren't. Most common cause of confusion:
Thrush vs STI — the difference
Thrush is a yeast infection, not an STI. Plain-language guide to symptoms in men and women, where to test in Ireland, OTC treatment, when to see a GP.
Bacterial vaginosis
Also not technically an STI but routinely checked alongside. Different smell, different treatment.
Where to get tested — by county
Every county page lists the free HSE sexual health clinics in that county, plus private and home-test options. All HSE services are free of charge — no GP referral needed.
Dublin
GUIDE Clinic, Mater, Gay Men's Health Service, Rotunda, plus home testing.
Cork
South Infirmary Victoria Hospital, Penrose youth service, home testing.
Galway
University Hospital Galway, Portiuncula, home testing.
Limerick
University Hospital Limerick, Tue/Thu clinics, home testing.
Waterford
University Hospital Waterford, home testing.
Louth
Louth County Hospital Dundalk, Our Lady of Lourdes Drogheda. Drogheda clinic →
Mayo
Mayo University Hospital Castlebar, home testing.
Donegal
Errigal CDM Hub Letterkenny, home testing. Letterkenny clinic →
Wicklow
Dublin clinics + home testing.
Kerry
University Hospital Kerry Tralee + South Infirmary referral.
Kildare
Naas General + Dublin commuter-belt options.
Meath
Our Lady's Hospital Navan + Drogheda overflow.
Tipperary
South Tipperary General Clonmel + UHL for North Tipp.
Clare
University Hospital Limerick GUM clinic.
Kilkenny
St Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny.
Wexford
Wexford General Hospital sexual health.
Westmeath
Midlands Sexual Health Service, Mullingar.
Offaly
Midlands Sexual Health, Tullamore.
Laois
Midlands Sexual Health, Portlaoise.
Carlow
Nearest free GUM at St Luke's Kilkenny.
Sligo
Sligo University Hospital — covers the north-west.
Leitrim
Nearest free GUM at Sligo University Hospital.
Cavan
Cavan General Hospital sexual health.
Monaghan
Cavan General + Drogheda overflow.
Longford
Midlands Sexual Health, Mullingar.
Roscommon
Sligo (north) + Galway (south) GUM clinics.
Every county in Ireland is now covered. Still not sure where to start? Call 1800 700 700 or use the HSE clinic finder.
Not sure if you need a test at all?
Try the 30-second self-check. Five questions, nothing saved, no email. At the end it points you to the right free option for your situation.
The bit other STI sites skip — the emotional and social side
Testing is free and the medicine is straightforward. What stops most people is the anxiety, the conversation with a partner, the worry about who finds out, and the shame the culture still attaches to all of this. These six pages tackle that head-on.
Your first test
What actually happens — the room, the questions, the samples, the results. Plain language, nothing left out.
Dealing with anxiety
What anxiety does in this exact situation, what helps in each stage, and when to seek separate support.
Telling a partner
Scripts for current, past, and new partners. How HSE anonymous notification works if you cannot face the conversation yourself.
If you test positive
The first 24 hours, calmly. Five things to do, what each diagnosis means in 2026 Ireland, and what NOT to do.
Who finds out
Honest answer on GP file, insurance, employer, family. Different routes leave different paper trails — here is the map.
The stigma question
Where it came from, what it costs, and how to step past it for yourself and for a friend.
If a page sounds like it's for you
Some people want the general explanation. Some want the version written for their situation. These three are for the second group.
For students
Where on or near TCD, UCD, UCC, UoG, UL, DCU and the rest. College health services, drop-ins, anonymity.
For men
Men test less, get diagnosed later, and pass things on for longer. Plain-language symptoms and where to go.
For pregnancy
What the HSE tests for routinely, what to do about a positive result, partner notification.
By condition
Plain-language information on every common STI in Ireland. Each page covers what it is, how it spreads, signs and symptoms, testing, treatment in Ireland, and what to do next.
Chlamydia
The most common bacterial STI in Ireland. Often no symptoms. Easily treated with antibiotics.
Gonorrhoea
Bacterial, easily treated, often silent. Rising cases in Ireland — testing matters.
Syphilis
Bacterial, treatable at every stage with antibiotics, increasingly common in Ireland again.
Herpes
Common, often mild, no cure but managed easily. Most people who have it don't know.
HIV
A long-term manageable condition with modern treatment. Testing is free and confidential.
HPV
Extremely common. Most clear on their own. Vaccination is free for many in Ireland.
Genital warts
Caused by HPV. Visible, treatable, and not the same thing as cervical cancer risk.
Mycoplasma
Lesser-known but increasingly tested for. Plain-language explainer.
Bacterial vaginosis
Not strictly an STI but commonly checked alongside. Easily treated.
Trichomoniasis
Parasitic, easily treated with antibiotics. Often no symptoms.
Pubic lice
Treatable with over-the-counter creams. Not dangerous, just annoying.
Scabies
A mite, not an infection. Treatable with prescription creams. Itchy, but manageable.
When to stop reading and just test
If any of these apply, the next step is testing — not more reading:
- You've had unprotected sex with a new partner in the last 3 months.
- A previous partner has told you they tested positive for something.
- You've noticed something unusual — discharge, sore, burning, lump.
- You just want to know, with no specific reason. That's a great reason on its own.
Options: sh24.ie for a free HSE home test (17+), your nearest free HSE clinic, or your GP. All confidential.
About this site
STI.ie is an independent informational guide — not a clinic, not a testing service, not affiliated with the HSE. We exist because the official information, while accurate, is often written in language that's hard to read at 2am when you're worried. Our job is to translate the medicine into plain language and point people at the right free services. Sources for our content are linked on the resources page.
Important: Nothing on STI.ie is medical advice. Always speak to a clinician for diagnosis, treatment, or anything you're worried about. The free HSE helpline is 1800 700 700.