Taking a rental car into Northern Ireland

Question: Can I drive the rental car into Northern Ireland?  Are there extra fees or insurance?  There seems to be a lot of confusion from those who post on the Ireland blogs.  Can you explain?

Answer:  Hertz has no restrictions when taking a rental car into Northern Ireland.   Their insurance covers the entire island of Ireland,  including the North.  Should you want to return your rental to a Northern Ireland Hertz location, there would be a drop off fee, however.  If you're touring around the island and traveling through the North and returning to a Hertz location in the Republic, you have nothing to be concerned about.

In fact when you drive into Northern Ireland you won't realize you are there until you see the road milage signs are in miles rather than kilometers!  There is no 'official' border anymore.  It is just like driving between states in the USA.