Thanks for the replies.
26cb: I will try NIB and see if they will do something for me.
Marie:
You would have to present yourself at the bank in person to sign the account application.
I have already opened an account with Anglo Irish without visiting an Anglo Irish branch, it was all done on the phone and by post.
However in every other respect there is no difficulty setting up bank accounts in advance prior to moving to Ireland from the UK subject to the usual checks and documentation.
One of the conditions of many of the accounts I have been looking at is that you have to be an Irish resident, this is the problem I am facing. For example I filled out an online application form (sorry can't remember which bank) which had a drop down list from which you chose your country of residence. The options included Azerbaijan. At the end of the form I was told that I wasn't eligible because I lived in England. Would I have qualified if I had lived in Azerbaijan? Rubbish service, rubbish software.
I have got a potentially positive email from Irish Nationwide which I'll check out. I'll also check out NIB, thanks. But I'll also go back and trawl through the various banks a bit more systematically.
Thanks for the answers,
Shane.