I’ve decided to take the groups advice and not drive on the same day I land. My question is my flight arrives at 11:35 Dublin time. How much time should I allow to get to either the Hurston train or to one of the airport buses. I will only have a carry on. I’m trying to figure out my arrival time into cork and what time I should book either the bus or train. Thank you
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Here is information on the train from the Main in Seat 61 site:
You can call Irish Rail enquiries on 01 836 6222 when in Ireland or on 00 353 1 836 6222 from outside Ireland.
If you are prepared to pay for a full-price ticket you can just buy at the station on the day, there's no need to book in advance. Full-price tickets cannot sell out, they have a fixed price and unlimited availability. Reservation is optional on Irish intercity trains and not possible at all on local & suburban trains (including all Northern Irish domestic trains), if you choose not to reserve a seat you just board the train and sit where you like, in any empty unreserved seat. just as on trains in Great Britain.
However, for longer journeys if you are prepared to book in advance and commit to a specific train with limited or no refunds or changes to travel plans allowed, you can save money by buying a cheap advance-purchase ticket at www.irishrail.ie. You collect tickets at the self-service ticket machines at any main station.
Tip: How to travel 1st class, cheaply... Irish Rail has no 1st class semi-flex or advance fares, only 1st class full-flex. But you can buy an upgrade to 1st class for the difference in price between full-flex standard and full-flex 1st, which can be used with any standard class ticket, even an advance-purchase one. Simply buy a cheap standard class ticket, then use www.irishrail.ie again, this time clicking the Free travel pass or valid ticket link beneath the journey planner. Read the advice here (external website, please let me know if that link stops working). This works from Dublin to Belfast, too.
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-ireland.htm#check_train_times_&_buy_tickets
Personally I'd go with the walk-up unreserved ticket. There's no way of predicting whether your flight might be delayed. Traveling with just carry-on eliminates possible snafu with checked luggage, but there are still multiple things that could delay you. I'd feel like the additional cost of buying my ticket on the spot would be like insurance and a good alternative to the risk of losing what I'd paid for a reserved ticket.
Rome2Rio shows the bus is potentially cheaper and faster, but it looks like there are only a few departures per day, as opposed to the train every hour. Others on this site who've traveled recently in Ireland may know more.
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Dublin-Airport-DUB/Cork#r/Bus/s/0