A musician friend, part of the Joni-covering band Hejira, posed this question on FB.

… I’m delving into the world of carnets etc for a 3 gig trip to Ireland. The official advice from the excellent Musicians’ Union pages and the London Chamber of Commerce is get a carnet, as we’re travelling in a splitter van with 7 musicians and full backline. But tales from colleagues on the road say just drive over and show the border your contracts for the gigs. How risky is this strategy in Republic of Ireland? Anyone done it recently? Thanks for your collective wisdom!

Most replies from other friends of his suggest that if you’re travelling with all your gear, instruments etc. in the vehicle with you, you probably won’t need a carnet. You’d only need a carnet if the gear etc. was in a separate truck or van. But that word “probably” leaves room for quite a bit of doubt. And some possibility of disaster. Another suggestion was to cross to NI initially and then head south, as border checks are much less strict on land crossings. Anyone here with post-Brexit experience of Irish touring or can get information from someone who has?