Just like a recent thread requesting recommendations for a galway based solicitor for conveyancing work, theres no need to restrict yourself to a local guy.
I have never met my solicitor or broker but they are both doing a fine job.
The broker I used was Liam Ferguson (ferga.com) and I went with his deal simply because it was the best available.
My suggestion would be to go to ALL the banks directly initially (take a day off and have appointments arranged in advance for each bank). Bring along the essentials - copy of P60, bank statements for last six months, etc.
Decide what type of product you need beforehand if possible ie. fixed, variable, tracker, etc. - then make sure that you get direct comparisons with similar products from all the banks. You will probably find that the banks that cant match a product you got from another bank will try and sell you into a completely different type of product - designed to confuse and steer you away from the reality that they are not offering as good a deal for similar.
Let the rest of them know the best deal you have got back - to see if they will do better. Then try a couple of brokers on the same basis - and by the end of the process, you can satisfy yourself that you have gotten the best deal possible at the time.