Foreign exchange rate for lump sum

Hi All

If I want to convert a $ lump sum to Euro where would i get the best rate. (About $20,000)
Will I only get the same rate as I would if I wanted to convert a few € for a holiday or are there better rates for lump sums?
How do you go about doing this if the money is in an account in America? Is the simplest just to organise a wire transfer into a € account here in Ireland?

Phone around the different banks for a rate. They will normally hold the rate for 24 hours. It's amazing the difference between them.

also try xe.com and www.currency.ie, generally cheaper than the banks