The luck of the Irish is shining down upon the Toyota Prius. The now 10 year old (and still going strong) hybrid gas - electric car just received the green light to ship to Ireland. The Irish Government signed a deal with the Japanese auto maker to trial Prius Plug-in ahead of its launch due date in 2012.

Three of the new lithium-ion battery vehicles will be based in Ireland. They will be made available to leading companies including RTE, Vodafone, Hewlett Packard, Bank of Ireland, Google and Coca-Cola to test drive.

Toyota is partnering with Ireland's leading utility company…