Why cant i use my cell in Ireland

in july im going to ireland for a few days with my uncle. he says i cant use my cell phone there, or charge it. why is this?

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You cant charge it because the voltage and plugs are different, the voltage is higher and so would destroy the phone, unless you bring an adapter! 
As for using it, the networks are totally different and you wont get signal, but depending on where you are and whether or not you have a quad band phone you might pick up a local network but using it will cost you!

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Charging it would be a problem because the electrical voltage is different. You could invest in a suitable adaptor/transformer for the job. 

As for whether your phone would actually work in Ireland, I think your best bet is to go to the shop you bought it in and ask them. 

If you really want a phone in Ireland, I would advise getting one locally with a pay-as-you-go thingie, just buy credit as you need it, and you could sell it to someone when you're done with it.

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Unless the use of your phone in Ireland is included as part of your plan it can be VERY expensive- I knew someone who used her cell in the Caribbean and got charged roaming-long distance charges- somewhere around $700 for a ten minute phone call that she figured would be free. 

I would ask your uncle specifically if he knows why not- I wouldn't risk the expense OR the different voltage if you aren't sure about the expense/roaming charges... 

Most likely you won't even use your phone there- who would you even call? Do you have friends there? Your friends at home can live without you for a few days and losing your phone for the length of the trip shouldn't be so much of a hardship that you won't go without it- people lived without cell phones for thousands of years after all.

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If you have a prepaid card, or a contract mobile phone, you will be charged roaming charges when abroad. This basically means that when you're abroad, people in either country (your home country or the country you travelled to) who call you, will be charged up until the border. Then it goes to your home country and because they have to send that signal abroad, they charge you for that. In very short.With a prepaid card, that means your credit can run out much quicker than you expected, because you get charged when someone calls you. 

When your credit then runs out, no one can reach you because your credit has run out and your company can't charge you for sending phone signals abroad to where you are. That's why you can't use your phone abroad. 

On the other hand, it depends on what kind of phone you have. In very basic terms (what selling points have told me before), if you have a Dual band phone, you can only use it in two continents. Not entirely sure if those are preset, but generally phones these days are at least Quad-band, which means you can use them in every continent... at least, if Oceania is counted as part of Asia... 

That could also be a reason why you wouldn't be able to use your phone, if it only has one "band".

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Because America like to be awkward an use different plugs. And they have stupid networks too.