hi jj and welcome to anglers net
the best advice i can give you is buy a feeder rod and a coarse reel...you can get both new for not much money...reels go from say 12 to 45 quid...a cheap feeder rod you can get for 20 to 40 quid...go into your local tackle dealer,,,i,m sure he will put you right !! all you need then are a few hooks and small feeders
...these are used to put your ground bait out beside your hook bait...when feeder fishing always try to put your feeder in the same place every cast......thus keeping any fish you have attracted in a small area !!
as for the shannon pre-baiting a swim the night before is sometimes the only way to get them bream.....it aint the river it used to be .
and i would still advise you to go and talk to your local tackle dealer...i,m sure he will give you a crash coarse on feeder fishing,,,,,after that its up to the gods enjoy your stay in our lovely country
best regards mark