i think they have to be cropped in the states where its legal mate and then shipped over to ireland, dont think your allowed to crop ears over there? definately not allowed to do it here in the uk. so your best bet would be to get an american import thats allready had its ears done if thats the look you want but a good guard dog should do its job well never mind if its ears are up or down. the croppings done to make them look more alert and viscious