Visit visa to Ireland

Hi,

I am an Indian hoping to travel to Ireland for a couple of days in June. I currently reside in the UK & am married to a British national. I know that as the spouse of an EU national, I am exempt from paying the visa fee but there is precious little info on the Irish Foreign Office website on how to go about applying for an Irish visa. What it does provide is a premium rate number (charged at £ 1.50/min) which apparently provides 'relevant' info to visa applicants from the UK. This to me is an absolute rip off as the last time I rang the Italian Embassy to book a visa appointment, I ran up a bill of over £ 15. This one sounds no different.

So..I was wondering if any of the forum members could fill me in on the details of how to make an application:

1) Does it have to be done in person? (Always a pain as I would have to take a day off work & my boss wont be too happy about it)

2) What documents do I need to submit?

3) Do I need to make an (expensive) appointment or just turn up on the day?

4) How long does it take to process the visa? Does it have to be collected from the embassy or do they post it to you?

5) Some of the 'Schengen' countries now insist that spouses of EU nationals attend visa appointments with their partners, in addition to producing the marriage certificate etc, in order to qualify for exemption from visa fees. Does the same apply to Ireland?

Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Thanks