Hi everybody!

I'm thinking of doing a PhD in Ireland cause I've already been there and I would love to come back ( I'm Italian, btw).
However, this is my problem: how can I get some sort of financial support?
Fees are really expensive and so it is the cost of living. That's why I don't think I could afford them.
I wonder how normal people can pay all these money! I mean, I did a brief cost calculation and I'll need around 14000€ just for fees, room and board.

What should I do to get a funding/scholarship/grant?
How many chances do I have to get one of those?
How do Irish people usually deal with it? Everything is new for me because in Italy PhDs are really different so I feel like I'm missing something important, something I should know... I'm not even sure I've fully understood the difference between scholarship, fundings and grants!

Please somebody help me! :)

You need to look on findaphd.com for advertised PhDs in Ireland with funding for European students. If you're a good candidate you have a decent chance of getting funding if you are in the sciences. Most science students do not fund themselves, but this it more common in the arts and humanities where funding is more difficult to find.

"A full scholarship" means your fees and living expenses will be paid. The stipend in the UK is about 14000 pounds (I don't know what it is in Ireland). 'Funding' is usually used interchangeably with scholarship. 'Grant' is a word used less often and probably means the money is to be used for equipment or travel rather than living expenses.

A very good idea is to find out what kind of grants for women are available at the institutions you want to go to. In the UK we have various grants for women (e.g. a close friend of mine got a Foundation Awards scholarship of £6K per year for women at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), but each institution has different awards. Best thing to do is contact the Equality Officer at the institution and find out.