Hi Kiki86,
Qualifying in the UK doesn't seem to be too difficult.
An Irish law degree seems to be deemed as a qualifying law degree in the UK. That seems to be the general view I got anyway from various websites I looked at. Therefore, you are exempted from the entrance exams which are called the Common Professional Examination (the equivalent of Ireland's FE1s) You do a year long course called called the Legal Practice Course (like going to Blackhall) and I think you can do this without having first obtained a traineeship. Then, you do a two year traineeship.
CVMailUK is a great website where you can apply for summer vacation schemes and traineeships from the one place. I'm going to apply for traineeships, the deadline for most of them seem to be around April, May 2009. Although the competition for traineeships is just as harsh in the UK, it's a much bigger country and sure you never know. It seems to be worth a shot anyway, and I don't think converting to being an Irish solicitor after having qualified in the UK is too much of a hassle.