Pistols are very difficult to get a permit for, but not impossible. Getting a permit for a long guns would roughly equate to what would be required here (the hoops you would jump through) for a concealed carry permit here.
I’ve been to gun stores in Ireland, the guns are typically in vault rooms (legacy of past IRA thefts), but they won’t let a foreign national in the vault room for fear of their license.
Irish gun laws are very similar to British gun laws.