Starting off.....Question on what I need....

That's 4.2% duty on the original purchase price, plus 21% VAT on the total of purchase price + shipping & insurance + duty.

Given increases in the cost of shiping and insurance over the past 3 years the advantages of getting domething in from the US have diminished, on top of which some brands now forbid US retailers to ship to Europe or have a regionalized warranty policy.

There's a review of the Celestron 6" SCT on a GoTo mount that gets a favourable review.

I have this exact scope. Its very very good. It comes with a nice 26mm eyepiece ( currently my fav eyepiece) and I got a few more televue's soon after. its very portable and an excellent beginner scope. even if/when apature fever hits, i cant see myself getting rid of this scope.

Cant vouch for the goto, as i just got a goTo mount and havnt tried it yet(tonight hopefully if it stays clear), but the standard CG-5 mount is very solid, im guessing the goTo version will be good also.

The mount isnt the most portable, but as far as mounts go, you can lug it short distances.

If you ever want to get a look at it, give me a pm and il set it up in the back garden for you to have a look. or just call into the AI shop in Artane. I know that Carl O Birnes wont lead you wrong.

You can still save a packet getting in from the US, it depends on what you are buying, with something like eyepieces you can save a fortune, they are cheap to ship as they are generally small and light, its not likely that you'll need the warrenty for them.
If you want chance a goto scope, then you'd just have to take the risk and hope it works fine.
I got my LX200 8 years ago and it has never needed to go back to the shop/factory, although it has needed some minor tweaks over the years to keep it working, minor DIY grade stuff.

If you actually want to do any observing with a new scope, then, instead of importing one over here from the USA, it would be better if you emigrated TO the USA.

Personally I would be reluctant to recommend importing a scope from the USA (especially an expensive one) unless you had some sort of gaurantee with it. Whatever saving you made could be easily swallowed up (and more) by having to ship a scope back at your own expense. Scopes and mounts can be shipped faulty, I know this from personal experience and it is bound to happen occasionally. In my case it was a simple matter of popping it back to the shop where it was shipped away for repair and shipped back to my door at the sellers expense under warranty.
You are also at the mercy of the US courier. Eyepieces and accessories I would have no problem with but for a scope or expensive mount I would go locally (exceptions are companies that only ship from the US such as Astrophysics). I'd give Carl a buzz at the AI shop and see what he could offer you if it is Celestron you are after.

thanks for all that info everyone. certainly some things for me to consider. Im based in north county dublin, and yes, the light pollution is terrible. Another reason I'd like the CS as its easy to stick in the boot and travel up the hills somewhere. I rarely travelled with my reflector as its too big for easy transport, and often needs to be collimated after a bumpy ride in the car. Light pollution is not such a big issue for lunar viewing though which is good. thanks fguihen for that offer. much appreciated. I'll wait till about Feb to make a decision on what to go for. Need to save some money over xmas, but more importantly want to spend these 2 months researching the best option for me. I have heard very good things about the ETX 125. In fact when I joined the board one was for sale on here. I would have quite possibly bought it, but it was sold right before I saw the post. mind you, Barberskums comment about it not being the best for astro photography has me thinking.. hmmm... I suppose, Im not after national geographic quality prints or anything like that but would be nice to be able to take very focuses A4 style images of the moon features. So maybe I do need something with a better adapter than the etx125 has.
my research will continue for now. (Theres so much to be learned from trawling this board). Thansk all for your replies. much appreciated.