Galway to Dublin on flight day to US

hey hey barbj
spend the night near airport. we always stay in city we fly out of with no stress. find hotel with shuttle to airport, get to airport early to check in bags, have lunch near gate and people watch.
never know what may happen with disruptions on the bus or train since it's at least 3 hours away. don't want to be missing that flight back to minneapolis.
aloha

You pre-clear US immigration in Dublin which means needing to be at the airport by noon for your 1500 flight. That means leaving Galway by 9.00 AM at the latest. Personally, I would have heartburn even before I ate any airplane food.

Agree totally to be there the night before. Never can tell about traffic and immigration can take minutes or a couple of hours.

Thanks all. Pretty sure my gut was telling me not to risk it. I’ll stick to my original plan.

Since it's Dublin, I might consider returning to the city and enjoying a last night of Guinness and music. Staying near the airport for a 1500 departure is giving up a full day of vacation.

I agree - you don't necessarily need to stay at the airport.
Staying in the city would give you an extra afternoon/evening to enjoy Dublin while still leaving plenty of time the next morning to make it to the airport on time.

Yeah i don't see that you need to stay at the airport, but I would definitely make sure I was in the Dublin vicinity and not on the west coast the night prior to my outbound flight

What about staying in Malahide the last night? Best way to the airport from there?

If you fancy Maladhide, it’s only a 10-minute taxi ride to DUBlin Airport from there. The alternative bus takes a painfully slow 40 minutes.
Slainte!

Sure, Malahide would work.
So would the seaside suburb of Howth that many here love.
Either way it would be a very short drive to the airport in the morning or, as has been suggested, you could drop the car the afternoon before and just catch a taxi to and from your accommodation in either town. The 10-15 minute taxi rides would probably cost less than the extra day with the car, and doing it that way would save a step the next morning since the car rental lot at DUB is remote from the terminal area ... maybe a half mile away requiring a shuttle bus to return to get back to the airport.

Our Rick Steves Ireland tour ends in Belfast with our Farewell Supper on Friday, September 5th. We have a flight out of Dublin at 1:45 pm (13:45) on the 6th. The Rick Steves' materials state that the guide can assist in securing bus transportation to Dublin for the flight on the 6th. I assume that most of our group will fly out of Dublin on the 6th. Do you recommend taking a late bus to Dublin and paying for a hotel there after the farewell dinner on the 5th even though our room is included in the tour in Belfast?

You'll likely have better luck getting responses to your question if you initiate a new thread rather than tacking it on to the end of this discussion.
That said, it comes down to just how risk averse you are. I personally would lose sleep at the prospect of a 2 hour trip on getaway day to connect with a homeward flight, but (full disclosure) I usually lose sleep the night before anyway wondering about all the things that could interfere with my plans for getting to the airport on time.
The requirement to check in at Dublin airport 3 hours prior to your flight moves your departure time from Belfast to around 9 AM at the latest and (for me at least) is an added stressor I wouldn't particularly need that morning, so I'd opt for the overnight stay in Dublin (at the airport or in the city) in order to allow myself plenty of time the next morning ... not to mention the chance to spend a relaxed afternoon/evening in Dublin if you opt to stay in town.

Thanks Robert.