So the bottom line, for the Irish punter, is that THERE IS VAT charged on postage when buying from / importing from outside the EU.
Doesn't matter who charges it, and the statements here on the forum about there being no VAT on postage are misleading, but Ireland is the same as here, so, you pay tax on the total landed value declared on the parcel.
My apologies to @John-r for being misinformed!