Hey Don,
You mentioned you were thinking of getting into photography more seriously so if you like, the next time I\m down in Dublin, I could perhaps give you a few pointers on camera settings for various conditions.
Canon and Nikon are the two best brands I think and I think Canon do offer a larger vareity of lens however I am sure there are a good few lenses for Nikon as well. The canon in the link seems like a good deal considering it doesn\t seem to have to much of its life used.
To get good shots however you need a fairly decent lens so you should ideally spend more money on a lens than on a camera body. So you could end up spending upwards of 600E or 700E!
If you do decide to go for it, we should be able to list some potential lenses for you should you want some more help.
Dave